CARLOS, WENDY: TRON: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack 2LP (AFZ 177LP)48.00"Disney's video game crossover movie TRON was a notable landmark in the synthesis of electronic and traditional orchestral music. Wendy Carlos created a brilliant orchestral recording with symphonic backgrounds by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the UCLA Chorus which was later enhanced and upgraded with an electronic score. The result is an impressive soundscape that successfully and seamlessly fuses organic and electronic music. The multi-Grammy award winning Wendy Carlos best-known for her popular Switched on Bach series of albums also composed and performed on the soundtracks of two Stanley Kubrick cinema masterpieces, A Clockwork Orange and The Shining. The distinctive gatefold jacket holds two 180 gram translucent blue vinyl records and includes colorful photos from the popular cult film as well as generous and informative liner notes written by the composer as well as music maven, Michael Fremer who, at the time, served as the film's soundtrack supervisor. Fremer also oversaw the Audio Fidelity mastering by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. The TRON soundtrack has two additional tracks ('Only Solutions' and the rock guitar-driven instrumental, '1990's Theme') provided by Journey, one of America's best-selling and most beloved bands." Housed in a gatefold sleeve; on 180 gram vinyl.

BANCHEE: Banchee CD (AU 5046CD)17.00This Italian-American hard rock quartet came together in New York in the late '60s, and soon earned a strong live reputation in the city's clubs. Their debut album was released in the fall of 1969. A superb collection of acid-tinged pop metal and ballads, it makes its long-awaited return to CD here. Includes background notes.

AUS MUSIC (GERMANY)

DUSKY: Nobody Else EP 12" (AUS 1345EP)12.002014 repress. Dusky re-emerge with another four-track EP. The profile of dynamic duo Alfie Granger-Howell and Nick Harriman has continued to rise considerably through a series of strong EPs and remixes for artists including Justin Martin and Hot Chip. Their distinctive brand of off-kilter and purposefully cross-pollinated house-garage-techno has been championed by everyone from Seth Troxler to Loefah to Pete Tong to Paul Woolford. Here, their masterful weaving of subtle, slow-rising vocal clips with penetrating bass lines and scattered percussion can be appreciated by any dancefloor.

VYNEHALL, LEON: Brother/Sister EP 12" (AUS 1348EP)12.502014 repress. Leon Vynehall has established himself as more than just your average dance producer: he's established himself as a genuine artist, whose approach to production carves its own unique path. The Brother/Sister EP is a master class in rough and ready house music -- the A-side is a brutal, hook-fuelled rhythm that has already been destroying clubs in Saul's own sets, while the flipside is balanced with an undeniable beauty and melodic character that many contemporaries would struggle to pull off.

CLOSE & SECOND STORY: No Love Lost EP 12" (AUS 1467EP)14.00Here is a collaborative effort from the label-boss himself under his Close moniker and Al Tourettes' latest incarnation as Second Story, featuring vocals from Kid A. The title-track steadily swells behind tumbling delayed signals before sinking into a passage of clattering rim-shots, hurried hat shuffles and Kid A's pellucid vocal tones all set to a stuttering half-time pace. "Lacuna Slide" then loosely wades forward, growing in magnitude over a purposeful, bumping low-end. "Wal" then utilizes a brazen 4/4 thump and crystalline synth patterns to render an icy landscape before Seven Davis Jr.'s remix of "No Love Lost" rolls out behind a tight, floor-ready groove.

BANG! RECORDS (SPAIN)

CHROME CRANKS, THE: Dirty Airplay: Radio Session WMBR, Boston 1994 LP (BANG 079LP)21.00Legendary '90s New York City sonic swamp-blues band The Chrome Cranks, formed by: Peter Aaron, William Weber (G.G. Allin & The Murder Junkies), Jerry Teel (Honeymoon Killers, Boss Hog, Jerry Teel and the Big City Stompers), and Bob Bert (Sonic Youth, Pussy Galore, Five Dollar Priest). In 1994, they got into the studio at WMBR in Boston and came out with this 10-track recording, by far their most brutal, loudest, sonic, ear-bleeding and intense act released up to date. Proudly released by Bang! Records on vinyl with awesome artwork and previously-unreleased pictures.

BAOBAB MUSIC (GERMANY)

MR RAOUL K: Still Living in Slavery CD (BBM 001CD)17.00Still Living in Slavery is Mr Raoul K's third album. It is, however, the first one that will be released on his own label, Baobab Music. He thought for quite some time about how to shift the African instruments and African rhythm structures that he uses in his production process into a more dominant, more exposed position, so he gave them a role of their own, freeing them from being bound to a groove coined by a four-to-the-floor kick-drum. While using dominating drum sounds when producing records aimed for the dancefloor seemed reasonable, they weren't needed for the storytelling concept throughout this album and are left to the remixes. As usual, Mr Raoul K worked together with artists from Africa, and on this record, Hamed Sosso, Sona Diabaté, Batakali A.K. Tenekdash and Adama Conde present their skills. His friend Kuniyuki Takashi demonstrates his talent on the flute and provides some piano, too. This album deals with aspects of inner and outer slavery. It is known that people -- whether knowingly or not -- often get into habits that start to limit their possibilities and narrow their view. Slavery is no longer people put in chains by others, but people put in chains by themselves. But only one group of the enchained will admit to their chain. Mr Raoul K's other concern is to share traditional African grooves and sounds with an audience that hasn't experienced this kind of music before. He presents an authentic surrounding that provides the listener with the chance to fall in love with the unusual rhythmic patterns, without getting trapped in neo-colonial-folkloristic stereotypes. This album stands against cultural hegemonism and commits itself to getting together without prejudice.

APOSTLES, THE: Punk Obituary LP (BEAT 046LP)21.00The Apostles were formed in 1979 in the Islington area, London by Bill Corbet, Julian Portinari, Dan McIntrye and Pete Byng-Hall. With this line-up, the band didn't play any gigs, but were featured in diverse fanzines such as Paroxysm Fear and New Crimes. In the summer of 1981, Andy Martin joined them as vocalist and they played their first gig in September of 1981 and recorded their first demo, The Apostles. With the addition of Martin, the band started to work something out from the anarcho-punk scene, more into mixing diverse sounds such as industrial, English folk, some gospel and avant-garde stuff. In 1982, all the band's members left except Andy Martin, who called some friends from other bands as Political Asylum and Innocent Bystander to continue with the band's work. With this new line-up, the band recorded four 7"s and seven 12" LPs between 1984 and 1990. Punk Obituary was originally released by the great Motorhate label, run by the English band Conflict. This album is to anarco-punk what London Calling was to mainstream punk, a total seminal record that helped to create a new sound and style. Also the lyrics turned from anarco-punk themes to more personal and intellectual ones. A total absolute must-have record, for sure. Features replica cover art and inside artwork including a big newspaper/fanzine. Limited edition of 500 copies on 180 gram black vinyl with a gatefold sleeve.

BLACK ACRE (UK)

CLAP! CLAP!: Buck/Ichnusa 7" (ACRE 050EP)11.00Strictly limited edition 7" to celebrate Black Acre's 50th release! Clap! Clap! drops two works carved from the same tree as the soon-to-come full-length. "Buck" is a customary quick-step drum workout where the world both modern and ancient collides to create an explosive old-world sci-fi b-boy stomper. On the flip, "Ichnusa" is a more dreamy, psyched-out acid voyage across the plains.

BLAST FIRST PETITE (UK)

NISENNENMONDAI: N CD (PTYT 083CD)16.50Blast First Petite re-release Tokyo trio Nisennenmondai's forth studio album, N. Nisennenmondai is the world's best-kept secret among noise rock enthusiasts. Since the Y2K bug of the band's Japanese-translation-namesake was still a thing (Nisennenmondai means "computer bug problem of 2000 year"), the instrumental trio has been spinning post-punk, no wave, and Krautrock influences into something fresh and surprisingly danceable. N's three tracks are as minimalist as their names ("A-1, "B-1?, and "B-2?) and the album title infer. The notion of songs, standout or otherwise, is irrelevant here, for N is a journey meant to be taken from start to finish and without detour. Nisennenmondai's latest trip begins with an urgent loop that is promptly joined by a tight, pounding rhythm, and soon the specter of guitar dissonance drifts in and out. Throughout the rest of N's 40 minutes, a series of clattering guitar textures enter the fold, as bass rhythms and drum patterns rise and fall with a subtle, yet irresistible, hypnotism. All the while, drummer Sayaka Himeno steadily maintains repetitions for impossible lengths of time, easing into progressively more rapid-fire rhythms. Nisennenmondai's arrangements spellbind the listener, the entire album unfolding as one piece, all without ever becoming tedious. N is a fascinating mass, repetition as concept becoming an unofficial fourth band member. The album consistently transitions into new, raw grooves, each instrument following the same pattern for several minutes before drifting seamlessly into a new one without interrupting the flow, the others drawing attention away at the appropriate time. Nisennenmondai master subtlety on N, reigning the chaos into a hypnotic drone. N was originally issued in 2013 on Japan label Bijin Record and previous Nisennenmondai releases have consisted of a live album and some singles that are impossible to track down. To date only one of their previous albums were freely available outside of their native Japan (2008's Destination Tokyo on Norwegian label Smalltown Supersound).

BLUE CHOPSTICKS

AKCHOTE, NOEL: Gesualdo: Madrigals for Five Guitars CD (BC 026CD)13.50"The polyphonic music of late Renaissance composer Carlo Gesualdo (1566-1613) still fascinates for its forward-looking chromaticism and its stark, unpredictable shifts in character. His Fifth and Sixth Books of Madrigals from 1611 construct a world of their own--a distinctive body of work that has found adherents as diverse as Igor Stravinsky (who orchestrated Gesualdo madrigals in his 1960 Momentum pro Gesualdo), Werner Herzog (who directed the macabre, fanciful 1995 Gesualdo documentary Death for Five Voices), and now the French guitarist Noel Akchote. Akchote is best known as an improvising guitarist heard solo or in memorable collaborations with Derek Bailey, Sam Rivers, Lol Coxhill, Fred Frith, Evan Parker, Han Bennink, and many others. He has also contributed his distinctive talent to recordings by, among others, Luc Ferrari, David Grubbs, J. G. Thirlwell, and Jean-François Pauvros. In recent years, Akchote has immersed himself in the study of medieval and Renaissance music, resulting in a mind-bogglingly prolific series of digital releases of the complete works of Carlo Gesualdo and Guillaume de Machaut, as well as arrangements for guitar of works by Monteverdi, Palestrina, and Orlando di Lasso. By all means, lend an ear to Noel's strange and marvelously obsessive project -- these hours and hours of home recordings of overdubbed guitars playing polyphonic music. Gesualdo: Madrigals for Five Guitars, by contrast, shows what happens when Akchote puts together a band of five guitarists to tackle this music in a live setting. Gesualdo's madrigals are scored for five voices, and Akchote was intrigued to discover that the pitch range of the Fifth Book of Madrigals exactly matches the range of the Renaissance lute--an instrument that Gesualdo himself played. Under Akchote's direction, the five equal voices of these madrigals are transformed into five equal electric guitars in what in theory would seem a crazily heterogeneous ensemble, featuring Julien Desprez (Acapulco), David Grubbs (Gastr del Sol, Belfi / Grubbs / Pilia), Adam Levy (Norah Jones, Tracy Chapman, etc.), and Doug Wamble (Wynton Marsalis, Cassandra Wilson). And yet, Gesualdo: Madrigals for Five Guitars is nothing if not a coherent massing of five otherwise distinctive approaches to the guitar -- just as Akchote envisioned it. Gesualdo: Madrigals for Five Guitars is suffused with the extraordinary ambience of the library at the 13th-century Abbaye de Royaumont, where these spontaneous, resolutely alive performances of selections from Gesualdo's Fifth Book were documented. The group kicks up its heels at the end of the day to end on the high note of Guillaume de Machaut's 'De Fortune me doy pleindre' -- a little ditty dreamed up almost four centuries prior to the Gesualdo pieces."

BUREAU B (GERMANY)

D.A.F.: Produkt der Deutsch-Amerikanischen Freundschaft LP (BB 101LP)25.002014 repress. 180 gram LP version. Bureau B reissues the first Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft album, originally released in 1979. True D.A.F. connoisseurs will, of course, be aware of the early phase of the Düsseldorf-Wuppertal combo. But most fans of the subsequently world-famous duo may well be taken aback when confronted with their debut album: forceful synth bass sounds, snappy rhythms, Gabi Delgado and leather all conspicuously absent. In their place, pure instrumental, unstructured noise-rock, played by long-haired and moustachioed types. A band can barely have undergone a more extreme metamorphosis. Gabi Delgado joined the band (hitherto comprising Robert Görl, Kurt Dahlke/Pyrolator, Wolfgang Spelmans and Michael Kemner), before the band discarded the name of YOU and christened themselves Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft. And he was also on board for the first recording sessions at Studio 56 in Mühlheim. Disappointed with the results ("too close to Schlager," the band thought) and "less than happy" with Delgado's vocals and lyrics (as Pyrolator, responsible for electronics, noted), the group dispensed with Delgado's services. Yet the creative will was undiminished: "We really wanted to make a record. All the Düsseldorf bands -- Male, Mittagspause -- already had an album out, everyone except us," and with the singer now gone, an instrumental album was the only option. In the wake of the studio debacle, the decision was made to take the recording into their own hands. A tape machine and two microphones were set up in Wolfgang Spelmans' living room and ten days of unbounded improvisation ensued. And thus it was completed, Produkt der Deutsch-Amerikanischen Freundschaft: 22 tracks, ranging from 19 seconds to three minutes in length. The influence of Can is clearly audible. Considering the fact that other prominent noise-rock bands such as Chrome, Flipper or even Sonic Youth recorded similar music at a much later date, this "product of Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft" should certainly be recognized as a pioneering work. Possibly even the first noise-rock album the world had seen or heard. Was the world ready for such brutal, nihilistic sounds in the late 1970s? The world of record companies was not. Unable to find a label, D.A.F. proved to be not only pioneers of noise, but also pioneers of DIY. They found help from the local bank, with Pyrolator putting up his car for credit amounting to 3000 Marks. A logical step, as he was already running a cassette label called Warning Records (later becoming Ata Tak). Produkt Der Deutsch-Amerikanischen Freundschaft was the first LP on the label and was given the catalog number WR 01/LP/1979. Sales were so good that Pyrolator was able to pay back his loan quickly. Printed innersleeve with photos and notes by Carsten Friedrichs.

GROSSKOPF, HARALD: Oceanheart CD (BB 157CD)17.00"Tired of the rock format and excited by the freedoms promised by electronic music, Harald Grosskopf quit Wallenstein, a conventional rock band, in the mid-'70s to turn his attention to electronica. Grosskopf thus became the first drummer to specialize in the electronic music field. He played drums on Klaus Schulze's Body Love album and on YOU's Electric Day. When Manuel Göttsching from Ash Ra Tempel asked him if he would consider enrolling as the regular drummer in the group now rechristened Ashra, he did not need to think about it for long. Grosskopf changed course again in the '80s, this time in pursuit of commercial success: he played in the NDW (Neue Deutsche Welle) group Lilli Berlin and backed Joachim Witt on his best-selling Silberblick LP, which featured the hit 'Goldener Reiter.' Sky, the record company, were more than a little disappointed with the performance of Grosskopf's first solo effort Synthesist, so there was no great sense of urgency as far as its successor was concerned. 'They even halved my advance!' Grosskopf recalls. Oceanheart was released some six years after Synthesist. 'The album title reflects my love of transcendental meditation, of course it might be taken for watery esoterics.' (A similar vibe was evident in the cover art, hence fresh artwork has been created for the reissue). Musical equipment for the production was limited by the label's ongoing thrift program. The first Oceanheart recordings took place 'under the roof' in the Lilli Berlin Studio, Kreuzberg. They were completed at the Spandauer Studio by former Tangerine Dream member Christoph Franke. 'We mixed everything down and recorded the drums there.' Harald Grosskopf again played everything himself, except for the tablas. In keeping with its predecessor, Oceanheart was no best-seller, but, like Synthesist, it attained cult status, rediscovered in recent years through the internet by a younger generation. Harald Grosskopf himself needed time to appreciate the work: 'I only really discovered the musical quality of Oceanheart years later. I finally realized that I had created something quite special.'" --Christoph Dallach

GROSSKOPF, HARALD: Synthesist CD (BB 158CD)17.00"Harald Grosskopf was in his early twenties when LSD 'blew [his] reality away,' as he recalls. Born in Hildesheim in 1949, he had previously drummed in fairly conventional rock bands, most recently for Wallenstein. Their label-boss Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser was fond of facilitating jam sessions for musicians on his Ohr und Pilz label, often supplying his 'cosmic couriers' with LSD (unbeknown to them, on occasion). In one such session, the drug inspired something of an epiphany in Grosskopf: 'There I was playing the drums when, in the midst of my euphoria, I realized that I had been imitating other drummers. Suddenly a voice spoke to me: stop trying to sound like Billy Cobham or Ginger Baker. From that moment on I felt liberated, free to drum without having to shine in a particular role.' Having discovered his own musical identity, Harald Grosskopf understood that a standard rock combo was not the ideal conduit through which to express it. Grosskopf: 'I was completely in thrall to electronic music and the total freedom that it offered. This was the music I wanted to create. I knew it would be a success, the energy levels were so high.' Grosskopf consequently left Wallenstein. 'I fell into a hole at first, wondering what I was going to do. So I sold my prized drum kit and used the money to buy a guitar, amp and echo device.' A few days later, the doorbell rang. It was Manuel Göttsching, on his way back to Berlin from a tour of France. They knew each other from Berlin's electronic scene and recording sessions for the likes of Ash Ra Tempel. Göttsching invited Grosskopf to sign up for his new project Ashra and the rest is history: Ashra (Grosskopf, Gottsching, Lutz Ulbrich alias Luul) released a series of successful albums in the years that followed. It was not until the summer of 1979, however, that he finally felt ready to release a solo album. Synthesist comprises eight instrumentals, recorded largely by Grosskopf on his own. His melodies, carried along by synthesizers and drums, were reminiscent of works by Berlin electronic friends such as Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream, as well as those 'cosmic' sessions of the early 1970s -- yet each melody retains a unique timbre. Synthesist is thus regarded as a classic by electronic music enthusiasts all over the world, evoking a thrilling musical era of the past with equal capacity to excite today." --Christoph Dallach

CLUSTER: One Hour CD (BB 172CD)17.00Bureau B reissues Cluster's 1994 album One Hour. "Cluster's hiatus between Curiosum (BB 038CD/LP) and Apropos Cluster (BB 171CD/LP) in 1990 lasted for almost 10 years. Roedelius and Moebius spent this time developing their individual musical characteristics in a series of solo albums and collaborations which they released with other musicians. Naturally, they also thoroughly explored newly emerging digital technology. Cluster's music evolved substantially through this decade, less so in basic style (color had simply been added to Cluster's world), but more in a more mature handling of rhythm, harmony and melody. If Apropos Cluster had been the fulminant reboot, then One Hour four years later already represented a fully-formed progression of the new concept. Roedelius and Moebius stayed true to their spirit of improvisation, playing together with a minimum of prior arrangements. So, in the duo's finest tradition, One Hour is the product of two sessions recorded in the studio of musician and sound engineer Eric Spitzer-Marlyn in Austria. Sixty minutes were selected from the most interesting passages and assembled into a coherent, cohesive musical sequence. The askesis in the apparent matter-of-factness and lightness of One Hour is an expression of strict artistic conception. Nothing veers off course, not a single flash of genius is overplayed. Moebius and Roedelius guide their listeners deeper and deeper into the fantastical realm of musical extravaganzas. One image follows the next, disappearing in similarly unhurried fashion to be replaced by another. As placid as One Hour may seem, the album is nothing less than meditative. This is not ambient music. High impressionism would be a more apposite description. Appreciating the fleeting imagery and flow of ideas requires the listener's undivided attention. Using Cluster as acoustic room scent would be a hopeless undertaking. The exquisite particles of sound would dissipate far too quickly and ineffectively." --Asmus Tietchens

CAMERA: Remember I Was Carbon Dioxide LP+CD (BB 176LP)22.00LP version. 180 gram pressing. Includes CD of full album. Yes, you can actually hear it. Respect. There it is, in the very first track on the new Camera album, a little sound signature elegantly woven into the hypnotic maelstrom of the music, contiguous to "From the Outside" -- like a distant echo -- Kraftwerk's revered "Autobahn." Which brings us directly to Krautrock, that perennial badge of hipness. The ultimate honorary title for repetitive music, as played by Camera. In fact, the Berlin band's penchant for playing without permission in underground stations or other public places (in the gents at the Echo Awards ceremony) has seen them dubbed "Krautrock Guerilla." Nevertheless, the Krautrock label remains just that, slapped on to rescue nameless music from limbo, vainly searching for a pigeonhole. Camera are not seeking to emulate the sound of older Krautrock bands, in any case. Nor have they been listening incessantly to NEU! or Can. "Perhaps we just have the same angle of approach," suggests keyboard player Timm Brockmann, "we start playing and simply go with the flow." Motorik-driven, energetic stretches laced with psychedelic overtones rise up from keyboards, drums and guitars, much as they did for the pioneers of German Krautrock some 40 years ago, without any sense of imitation or facsimile. The band does not even imitate itself. That would amount to nothing short of a moratorium, restricting their advancement. When it comes to principles, the principal objective is progression. Their commitment to playing anywhere and everywhere reaches beyond spontaneous concerts on the streets of Berlin. All the world's a stage. On the back of Radiate! (BB 116CD/LP) their debut album from 2012, Camera extended their range to Russia and the USA. While Radiate! was entirely the product of studio improvisation, Remember I Was Carbon Dioxide sees Timm Brockmann and drummer Michael Drummer revisit and revise jams supplemented by various different guitarists and other guest musicians, exploring the possibilities of the studio as a reflection loop without losing sight of their overriding impulse to improvise -- which is, after all, the essence of Camera. One hears a hypnotic beat. A musical drift that sweeps the listener into a trance. Shimmering elegance, forceful bursts of garage rock, a gentle flow, spherical flight. And one can hear it resonate beyond the horizon of this music. Searching, researching, yearning. Camera have the resolve to search and explore -- listen to "Hallraum," for example, the closing track on their new album -- they have an appetite for beauty, to play around with it a little. You can still call it Krautrock, if you must.

CAT RECORDS

MCCRAE, GWEN: Something So Right LP (CAT 2608LP)13.00Exact repro of Gwen McCrae's third album, originally released in 1976. "?a solid, soulful showcase for McCrae's vocals. Her style retains the emotional earthiness needed to truly connect with her listeners. A good example of her style arrives with her performance on the title track, the cover of a Paul Simon classic, which balances an elegant and controlled delivery on the verses with a more emotional delivery on the chorus." -- All Music Guide

CELLULOID (FRANCE)

HELL AND THE VOIDOIDS, RICHARD: Destiny Street LP (CEL 6619LP)12.00Second album from Richard Hell and the Voidoids, originally released in 1982 on Red Star Records. That's Patty Smyth on the cover and this is an edition released on the French label Celluloid. Christgau said Destiny Street is "fuller and jazzier than Blank Generation without any loss of concision."

CHAPTER MUSIC (AUSTRALIA)

JEAN, LAURA: Laura Jean CD (CH 118CD)15.50Melbourne folk auteur Laura Jean returns with a new self-titled record, her most intimate and affecting album yet. Laura Jean follows on from 2011's A Fool Who'll (CH 078CD), her acclaimed excursion into rock dynamics (described by Rolling Stone as "an uncompromising triumph"). For the new album, Laura traveled to the UK and recorded with producer John Parish, renowned for his career-spanning collaborations with PJ Harvey, as well as his work with Goldfrapp, M. Ward and many others. The album was recorded at Toybox Studios in Bristol. Laura Jean alternates between startlingly honest portraits of domestic life, and more allegorical tales of a dream world. The tone is sparse and delicate, only occasionally breaking out into full-bodied arrangements such as "June" and "Don't Marry the One You Love." But what at first seems beguilingly gentle pulls you deeper and deeper with every listen. The album features backing vocals throughout from rising Norwegian performer Jenny Hval, with whom Laura has toured Australia and Europe. Laura also sings a duet with John Parish on "Prince of Kites" to close the album. Since coming to prominence with debut album Our Swansong in 2006, Laura Jean has risen to become a singular, powerful voice in Australian music. She has enjoyed Triple J rotation and many community radio feature albums, appeared on Rockwiz, sung back-up on the latest Paul Kelly album, collaborated with the Drones' Gareth Liddiard on an ABC documentary soundtrack, and toured with the likes of Bon Iver, Adalita, Dirty Three and Seeker Lover Keeper. Each album has seen Laura shifting and searching subtly. Our Swansong was lush and pastoral, adorned with strings, woodwind and beautiful modal harmonies. 2009's Eden Land explored ideas of self-discovery and loss of innocence through a suite of nine interconnected songs. A Fool Who'll was dark and claustrophobic, even menacing at times, but suffused with a fierce beauty. Now Laura Jean is another shift -- a stripping back, a focusing of Laura's inward gaze and a sharpening of her storytelling gift. The result is an album both intensely personal and somehow timeless.

JEAN, LAURA: Laura Jean LP (CH 118LP)17.00LP version with download code. Melbourne folk auteur Laura Jean returns with a new self-titled record, her most intimate and affecting album yet. Laura Jean follows on from 2011's A Fool Who'll (CH 078CD), her acclaimed excursion into rock dynamics (described by Rolling Stone as "an uncompromising triumph"). For the new album, Laura traveled to the UK and recorded with producer John Parish, renowned for his career-spanning collaborations with PJ Harvey, as well as his work with Goldfrapp, M. Ward and many others. The album was recorded at Toybox Studios in Bristol. Laura Jean alternates between startlingly honest portraits of domestic life, and more allegorical tales of a dream world. The tone is sparse and delicate, only occasionally breaking out into full-bodied arrangements such as "June" and "Don't Marry the One You Love." But what at first seems beguilingly gentle pulls you deeper and deeper with every listen. The album features backing vocals throughout from rising Norwegian performer Jenny Hval, with whom Laura has toured Australia and Europe. Laura also sings a duet with John Parish on "Prince of Kites" to close the album. Since coming to prominence with debut album Our Swansong in 2006, Laura Jean has risen to become a singular, powerful voice in Australian music. She has enjoyed Triple J rotation and many community radio feature albums, appeared on Rockwiz, sung back-up on the latest Paul Kelly album, collaborated with the Drones' Gareth Liddiard on an ABC documentary soundtrack, and toured with the likes of Bon Iver, Adalita, Dirty Three and Seeker Lover Keeper. Each album has seen Laura shifting and searching subtly. Our Swansong was lush and pastoral, adorned with strings, woodwind and beautiful modal harmonies. 2009's Eden Land explored ideas of self-discovery and loss of innocence through a suite of nine interconnected songs. A Fool Who'll was dark and claustrophobic, even menacing at times, but suffused with a fierce beauty. Now Laura Jean is another shift -- a stripping back, a focusing of Laura's inward gaze and a sharpening of her storytelling gift. The result is an album both intensely personal and somehow timeless.

CHIAROSCURO RECORDS

MASON, JAMES: Rhythm Of Life LP (CR 189LP)12.00Rhythm Of Life is a late '70s soul-jazz classic. James Mason's "I Want Your Love" single was notably re-released and remixed on the Rush Hour label (RH RSS3-EP). Exact repro reissue, originally released in 1977.

TOMMY FOUR SEVEN: OX 12" (CLR 080EP)14.00Tommy Four Seven is back on CLR with another challenging release, titled OX. Featuring two original versions and a remix by Oscar Mulero, one of Spain's most tireless and trendsetting techno ambassadors. The originals of "OX 1" and "OX 2" seem to equally satisfy his artistic standards as much as the needs of the dancing crowd. Loads of groove and dark, absorbing atmospheres go hand-in-hand, creating his much-appreciated modern techno sound. Oscar Mulero takes the opportunity to deliver an irresistibly driving take on "OX 1," proving once more his qualities and significance as a producer.

CONTEXTERRIOR TUNING SPORK (NETHERLANDS)

CELLER, ALEX: Kammsa/Plex Astunde 12" (CNTXTS 1001EP)12.50The hybrid label of Contexterrior and Tuning Spork is launched with this release, which comes from London-based Alex Celler, who has been collaborating with Jay Haze & his labels since 2009. "Kammsa" expands over 11 minutes and is based on a bubbling, funked-up bass which mutates slowly and maintains a steady yet driving pace, accompanied with percussion and melodies, slowly escalating into a dynamic groover which quickly takes off. "Plex Astunde" comes strong and mysterious, with shuffling rhythms and syncopated drums, rolling along sub-bass tones, forming a chuggy, sleek rhythm which leads to a melodic turn, only to descend again into glitch territory.

SUN RA: Sun Song LP (DELMARK 411LP)17.00This is the debut album by Sun Ra, originally released in 1957 on Transition Records under the title Jazz By Sun Ra. Tracks: "Brainville," "Call For Demons," "Transition," "Possession," "Street Named Hell," "Lullaby for Realville," "Future," "New Horizons," "Fall Off The Log" and "Sun Song."

DIAGONAL (UK)

SHIT AND SHINE: Powder Horn CD (DIAG 012CD)12.50The next release on Diagonal is the latest album from Texas-based demolition artist Craig Clouse aka Shit & Shine. Titled Powder Horn, it follows-up Clouse's 2013 Diagonal debut 12", which channeled his shape-shifting sound into sharp shocks of mangled club music. On this new album, his first full-length since 2012's Jream Baby Jream, Clouse voyages still deeper down his own sonic wormhole. Its raucous slabs of deviant funk, wiry disco and burnt-out acid are sculpted to soundtrack strung-out dancefloors and their seedy early-hours aftermath, yet they still bear crucial traces of Shit & Shine's history in noise rock. Drums bound, crash and detonate to drive the music forward in fits and starts, their sound veering from the chest-busting thud of a techno kick to the hollowed-out clatter of a live punk band. Writhing acid lines do battle with taut, spidery guitar motifs, wrenching the momentum abruptly sideways. "Hiss" is bare-chested post-punk, strutting across the stage, caked with sweat and fizzing with static interference. Deeper into the night, "Acid Minor" wrenches up the gear to explode into full-bore acid techno, with Clouse repeatedly hammering the brakes and triggering space itself to distort around you. This provocative yet playful approach has long been a defining characteristic of Clouse's music. Over the past decade he's gained a reputation for Shit & Shine's remarkable live shows -- mesmerizing blasts of rhythmic noise featuring multiple drummers -- as well as a string of albums exploring starker noise rock and industrial-infused sounds. His recent shift towards more club-centered music, then, makes sense. Both Powder Horn and his previous Diagonal EP further hone his fascination with the energizing effects of rhythm on the mind and body, while retaining the unpredictable and confrontational nature that's always made Shit & Shine such a wild proposition. CD includes three bonus tracks off of the DIAG004 12".

DIRT CREW (GERMANY)

VA: Deep Love 10 CD (DIRT 007CD)17.00Dirt Crew celebrates their 10th anniversary in 2014. To accompany this great event, the label releases this special anniversary compilation called Deep Love 10 that features even more exciting new faces to the Dirt Crew family. Rather than looking back at all those great releases and artists they worked with in past years, they chose a slightly different approach and bring you a CD packed with mainly new artists. Only their most consistent artist Tigerskin and Japanese house-head Yosa are familiar faces here. The smooth, rolling intro track is by the mysterious Chicago-based Edit Murphy who is a personal fave of the label with his deep disco-infused house. Following is Irish newcomer Fion, who takes it in a spacey and deep direction for a great bouncy and funky track. The third track is by Yosa with a true Yosa banger with great vocal cut-ups and a high energy house/disco feel. Leeds-based Death On The Balcony deliver the next track, slowing things down a bit, taking the CD in a more laid-back and moody direction. Newcomer Timothy Blake has only done one release before and has a very fresh Italo disco approach to his house sound. Much like old Kerrier District stuff, this joint is funky as hell. The next track is by St. Petersburg-based producer Kito Jempere, who combines an eclectic mix of disco, electro and house. London-based Matt Masters drops a slow analog burner that pans between electro and techno and takes the CD towards darker spheres just to be followed by the breaking track of the compilation, the beautiful and jazzy "Baby's Smile" from the very talented Manchester-based producer Hidden Spheres. Tigerskin takes on track 9 with one of his powerful dancefloor bombs -- the cool off-beat and stabby bass of this track catches you from the start. The next track is by St. Petersburg's Ponty Mython, showing that the Russian house scene is more vibrant than ever and that there is much more to discover from this part of the world. From Lithuania is the next new face with a storming track, Zoe Zoe, who were featured on Maya Jane Coles' DJ-Kicks compilation. The closing track is by Schmutz from Belfast. With their incredibly tight techno and electro-influenced "Who Knows," they present a refreshing mix of Detroit house vs. classic '90s UK techno. Housed in special packaging in a profilepack, printed cardboard with CD slot on the inside.

DISKO B (GERMANY)

PYRAMIDS, THE: Lalibela LP (DB 163LP)21.002014 restock. 180 gram vinyl. Founded 40 years ago in 1972, The Pyramids released three albums before splitting up in 1977. Lalibela (1973) was the first album recorded by The Pyramids following their landmark journey throughout Africa as students from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. The album is one of the first cutting-edge "concept" albums, as each side of the LP seamlessly flows from one composition to the next in the vein of a suite painting a musical portrait of the African adventure experienced by founding members Idris Ackamoor, Margaux Simmons, and Kimathi Asante. Lalibela, Ethiopia was the inspiration for the album. A journey to experience the 12th-century rock churches of Lalibela by Margaux and Idris closed out their nine-month African odyssey. The personnel for the recording was augmented by new members percussionist Bradie Speller (Hekaptah), drummer Marcel Lytle, and soprano saxophonist Tony Owens (Masai). The album has plenty percussion-driven rhythms, beautiful alto sax and flute melodies, soaring and "out" improvisations, ritualistic chants, meditative tone pieces, high energy modal jams, and exotic African instruments collected during the African trip.

PYRAMIDS, THE: King of Kings LP (DB 164LP)21.002014 restock. On 180 gram vinyl. King of Kings (1974) was the second album that reunited all original members including drummer Donald Robinson while adding several special guests, pianist Jerome Sanders and cellist Chris Chafe. King of Kings was recorded at Appalachia Sound Recording Studio located several hours away from Antioch in Chillicothe, Ohio. Unknown to the band at the time, Chillicothe was the site of ancient Indian burial mounds. This reality added to the very spiritual quality of the recording. The opening track "Mogho Naba" continued the group's fascination and interest in African history and reflections. The Mogho Naba is the King of the Mossi people in what is now Burkina Faso, but dates back in antiquity. The tune's rhythm is infectious. The use of call and response chants and beautiful horn lines is meant to hypnotize and induce trance-elevating spiritual consciousness. "Queen of the Spirits" was written as a dedication to flautist Margaux Simmons. It is one of the band's favorite pieces of music. Utilizing the Ugandan harp, the African one-string fiddle (goge), percussion, piano, and cello, the closing is prescient harking to world music and music for meditation that would come years later. The UK band Bonobo sampled a section of the composition for their European hit album Days to Come.

DIYNAMIC (GERMANY)

THYLADOMID (FEAT. MAHFOUD): The Real Thing EP 12" (DIYNAMIC 071EP)14.00Thyladomid is back with another big-hitting track, "The Real Thing," featuring Mâhfoud, plus remixes from label mates Stimming and Adriatique. The track in its original form is a truly somber bit of deep house. Its main feature is a melancholic piano line that lazily rolls over warm, rubbery kicks as Mâhfoud's pained and sad vocals add another layer of emotion. Stimming's rework the track into a much more sharp and urgent affair with his usual intricate details making it hugely energetic. Finally, Adriatique offer up a lazy, spaced-out and fairly slow house remix that is all about making dancers sink into their inviting groove.

DOL (RUSSIAN FEDERATION)

JOHNSON, BLIND WILLIE: His Story LP (DOL 1105LP)21.00Originally released on Folkways in 1957. "Several years after Blind Willie Johnson's death in 1949, Samuel B. Charters tries to get to know the now-distinguished African-American blues and spiritual vocalist/guitarist through those closest to him, including Johnson's wife Angeline. The album combines old recordings, interviews and commentary."

WATERS, MUDDY: The Best Of Muddy Waters LP (DOL 1427LP)21.00"By 1954, the father of Chicago blues, Muddy Waters, had reached the upper echelons of success. Now recording with a band that included harmonica virtuoso Little Walter Jacobs, the legendary Willie Dixon on double bass, and Jimmy Rogers on second guitar (all immense talents in their own right), Waters could do no wrong."

HOWLIN' WOLF: Moanin' in the Moonlight LP (DOL 1434LP)21.00"1959's Moanin' in the Moonlight was Howlin' Wolf's first long-playing album for the Chicago-based Chess label. It was a compilation of previously released singles spanning an eight year period (from 1951-1958), beginning with his first single--1951's 'How Many More Years'/'Moanin' At Midnight' -- which immediately shot to the top of the R&B charts, all the way through to 1958's 'Moanin' for My Baby'. During the 1950s, the Wolf had two more top 10 hits, 'Smokestack Lightnin'' (perhaps his single most influential song) and 'I Asked For Water (She Gave Me Gasoline)', also featured here."

HOWLIN' WOLF: More Real Folk Blues LP (DOL 1512LP)21.00More Real Folk Blues was originally released on Chess in 1967, following Real Folk Blues. "The chaotic opener, 'Just My Kind,' sets a familiar Wolf theme to a 'Rollin' & Tumblin'' format played at breakneck speed and what the track lacks in fidelity is more than made up in sheer energy. For a classic example of Wolf's ensemble Chicago sound, it's pretty tough to beat 'I Have a Little Girl' where the various members of his band seem to be all soloing simultaneously -- not unlike a Dixieland band -- right through Wolf's vocals." -- All Music Guide

DOPENESS GALORE (NETHERLANDS)

EARLYBIRD SOUL SYSTEM: Flashing Lights EP 12" (DG 10007EP)12.5010 years of Dopeness Galore brings forth an exciting new project between well-established future soul producer Inkswel and blossoming underground RnB vocalist Charli James. Together the pair bring together boom bap soul, sample-based house and heartfelt build-up house into the Flashing Lights project. Three tracks of unrestrained, unique, soulful music, unlike anything else. Backed by killer remixes from Kid Sublime and Kez YM and topped off with next-level art by Joel VDK. Comes in brown cardboard sleeve with the artwork on a separate printed inlay.

DOXY (RUSSIAN FEDERATION)

GAINSBOURG, SERGE: Du Chant A La Une! Volume 1 & 2 LP (DOY 617LP)23.502014 repress. "Gainsbourg's fabulous 10" debut album and its immediate follow up -- still on 10" - are now back to life in this Doxy release that collects both these rare gems. Released in 1958 and 1959, they belong to Gainsbourg's chansonnier period, and they're far from that style that gave us his late minimalistic pop atmospheres for which he is well known. But they are already a nice take on Gainsbourg's future smokey night club attitude that later helped consolidate his maudit character, that sleazy sexy motherfucker that seems to be encrusted in the grooves of each of his most famous scratchy vinyls of the seventies. Allez l'homme a tete de chou..."

DRAG CITY

BITCHIN BAJAS: Bitchin Bajas 2xCassette (DC 592CS)11.00"The trip through Bitchin Bajas took in all kinds of sonic terrain. When it was done, an additional mix was made, omitting the intense peaks of the album to create a Relaxation Version. This mix has been added to the cassette version only, making a 2xCS."

BITCHIN BAJAS: Bitchin Bajas 2LP (DC 592LP)24.00"...and at the heart of Bitchin Bajas, there is pure peace. Bitchin Bajas have been around the world in five years; chasing sonics through space and time and coming up with a lot of conclusions along their discographical path. Always, they push forward, recklessly consuming processes in order to realize their own works -- but the sound and the music regularly emerges with tranquil essence, bringing them and their listeners into a shared experience. Bitchin Bajas' output has been remarkably diverse in search of this singular goal, which makes for great listening across multiple albums etc. -- and with the release of this new double-LP, they have mapped and traversed their own ecosystem as they journey in search of the aural epiphany, the true unknowing. With plenty of room stretched over four sides, Bitchin Bajas use their many methods to attain perfect flow throughout the 76 minutes of this self-titled record. Self-titled because this is who they are at their core; these are the flares and oscillations of their soul. They will be other things again, horizons will continue to rise and fade away in their path as they continue forward and upward -- but this self-titled record is a pure vision at the heart of Bitchin Bajas. Acoustic is the beginning. Eastern tonalities relocate Bitchin Bajas farther inside the source, finding the timeless time from long ago and slowly sliding via fader until then is now, until acoustic goes analog. Something pure and natural is happening -- within the sound, within the songs; in the album and in you. The shifts that come makes changes in your moods and your body temperature. Something delicate yet definite, gradually washing over your consciousness. Electricity just comes, it doesn't even begin. Bitchin Bajas is climate-controlled comprehension -- on one hand, an ultimate album, and on the other, barely even an album at all. What began in randomness, pitch-shifting and tape manipulation emerged in the cutting as a single direction, a journey in scales, divided by the format perfectly into four stages, eight discreet parts. Bitchin Bajas reach high and low in their consciousness as expressed through equalization to see (hear) what affect it will have on them -- and what it does to them, reaches through to you. The space found on Bitchin Bajas was located with organ, synthesizer, winds, xylophone and autoharp, employing a 1" 8-track tape machine to the fullest extent. Additional contributions from strings, keys, guitar and field recordings helped make Bitchin Bajas everything that it is."

SEGALL, TY: Manipulator CD (DC 600CD)13.50"The Segall has landed. And it's fully loaded, with everything that Ty Segall (and you and me) are gonna need in the world to come. Heads up! It's coming down fast. Soursweet declarations featuring freaks and creeps alike: 'The Singer,' 'The Faker,' 'Mister Main,' 'Susie Thumb,' the 'Connection Man,' and 'The Crawler,' to name but a mutant fistful. To see these peeps, to realize their dreams and visions, Ty kept working, kept writing, laying down more tracks than ever. New musical expressions pop and surprise relentlessly throughout all the knockout tunes of Manipulator with many sounds in the mix ? but most of all, SO many guitars! So many. And different kinds of strings ? the strangled-neck solo of 'The Singer,' recalling the good old days down by the river with Neil. Numbed and- unplugged discursions spiraling away from the funk on 'Mister Main.' Three-quarter quartets raising their din in a few key places. Waves of sparkling acoustics with ominous, Love-ly undertones ? and then, torrents of filthy git-grunge, exploding into the chorus, washing everything away, fusing the blackness of Sabbath with the grime and grab-ass of the Stooges and the sweet swinging tones of the Stones. All in the name of getting higher on the music. Why have one guitar solo when you can have a few in the same space? There's so little time, and a lot to say."

PERRY VS. ROBO BASS HIFI VS. DUBBLESTANDART, LEE 'SCRATCH': Nu School of Planet Dub CD (EB 105CD)17.00Lee "Scratch" Perry -- file under -- The Legend! Robo Bass HiFi -- file under -- Bass! Dubblestandart -- the Viennese/European coffee house version of Dub Syndicate! Robo Bass HiFi lives and breathes a tight combination of jungle, dub, dubstep -- space and irregular pop. His current electro-reggae drenched in bass music is mighty in all its facets and incessantly feeds the mind of the universe. From roots and dub to dubstep/drumstep through to future jungle, UK-digital and drum'n'bass, Robo Bass Hifi loves tinkering with sounds and rhythms to create something that not everyone can handle, but which folks on the Echo Beach love more than anything else: BAAASSS. His debut 16 Bit Skanks on Select Cuts was received by the local press with reviews that ranged from enthusiastic to tepid to non-existent. Robo Bass Hifi stringently sticks to his path. After submitting remixes to the three musketeers of German pop (Seeed, Fettes Brot, Jan Delay), all of which were rejected (the murmured rejections from the musketeers ranged from dulcet tones to absolute silence!) he now leads the reggae legend Lee "Scratch" Perry into a dark room and has shaken things up. David Lynch and Ari Up bring a breath of Jean Michel Jarre pop and captivate the master of the deep, thick bass. Previously, Dubblestandart recorded the originals on Return from Planet Dub with Master Lee Perry and now Robo Bass Hifi has taken them to a deeper level! Lee "Scratch" Perry: No real need to introduce this legend of reggae and dub. With this exceptionally fine release, Echo Beach welcomes the late summer with the warm throb of a deep bass.

ECHOSPACE

DEEPCHORD: dc07/dc08/dc09 [remastered] CD (ARC 001CD)15.00Echospace introduces the launch of echospace [detroit] archival editions, a special edition series focused on the rare, historical works of Deepchord. The long out-of-print Deepchord catalog has since been remastered and is finally available again. It's been a lengthy and timely process restoring old analog tape, DAT and cassette recordings (some dating back to 1994), all of which have been carefully resurrected from the vault of Detroit's revered NSC Studio. The long out-of-print catalog has been remastered, mixed, and once again bounced down to tape to ensure the best possible listening experience. Great measures, focus and time were spent to preserve the analog warmth and sonic integrity of the original masters. For those who don't know, these releases are considered by many some of the most inspired and influential sounds to emerge from Detroit well over 10 years ago -- a blueprint was set here for many artists to come, a step in the evolution. Expect gorgeous plumes of sound deeper than the ocean floor -- a rich analog tapestry made in the heart of Detroit, Techno City. Tracks 1-4 culled from DC07 (2000); Tracks 5-8 culled from DC08 (2000); Tracks 9-12 culled from DC09 (2000).

DEEPCHORD: dc10/dc11/dc12 [remastered] CD (ARC 002CD)15.00Echospace is pleased to introduce the second edition of Echospace [Detroit] archival editions, a special edition series focused on the rare, historical works of Deepchord. The long out-of-print Deepchord catalog has since been remastered and is finally available again. The release includes photography by Rod Modell. It's been a lengthy and timely process restoring old analog tape, DAT and cassette recordings (some dating back to 1994) all of which have been carefully resurrected from the vault of Detroit's revered NSC Studio. The long out-of-print catalog has been remastered, mixed, and once again bounced down to tape to ensure the best possible listening experience. Great measures, focus and time were spent to preserve the analog warmth and sonic integrity of the original masters. For those who don't know, these releases are considered by many to be some of the most inspired and influential sounds to emerge from Detroit well over 10 years ago -- a blueprint was set here for many artists to come, a step in the evolution. Expect gorgeous plumes of sound deeper than the ocean floor, a rich analog tapestry made in the heart of Detroit, Techno City. Tracks 1-3 culled from dc10 (2001); Tracks 4-6 culled from dc11 (2001); Tracks 7-9 culled from dc12 (2001).

DEEPCHORD: dc13/dc14/dc16 [remastered] CD (ARC 003CD)15.00Echospace is pleased to introduce the third edition of Echospace [Detroit] archival editions, a special edition series focused on the rare, historical works of Deepchord. The long out-of-print Deepchord catalog has since been remastered and is finally available again. The release includes photography by Rod Modell. It's been a lengthy and timely process restoring old analog tape, DAT and cassette recordings (some dating back to 1994) all of which have been carefully resurrected from the vault of Detroit's revered NSC Studio. The long out-of-print catalog has been remastered, mixed, and once again bounced down to tape to ensure the best possible listening experience. Great measures, focus and time were spent to preserve the analog warmth and sonic integrity of the original masters. For those who don't know, these releases are considered by many to be some of the most inspired and influential sounds to emerge from Detroit well over 10 years ago -- a blueprint was set here for many artists to come, a step in the evolution. Expect gorgeous plumes of sound deeper than the ocean floor, a rich analog tapestry made in the heart of Detroit, Techno City. Tracks 1-6 by Rod Modell & Mike Schommer; Tracks 7-10 by Rod Modell. Tracks 1-3 culled from dc13 (2001); Tracks 4-6 culled from dc14 (2001); Tracks 7-9 culled from dc16 (2003).

INTRUSION: The Seduction of Silence (Remastered) 2CD (ECHOSPACE 313-6)18.50Remastered double CD edition of Intrusion's now-classic, The Seduction of Silence, named and nominated one of the "Best Albums of 2009" in numerous magazines and honorable mentions in The Wire, Mixmag, DJ, XLR8R, Textura, URB, GO, De-Bug, Groove, and plenty more. This double CD edition includes never-before-heard songs, outtakes and B-sides to sweeten the deal, none of which were found on the first physical release."Stephen Hitchell's full-length debut under his Intrusion moniker literally picks up where his last full-length -- Echospace's 2007 epic The Coldest Season, recorded with partner-in-crime Rod Modell -- left off. The massive 'Empyrean' that closed The Coldest Season with a floor-friendly journey into dub techno was the album's most overtly Jamaican-sounding and beat-laden track, and the Intrusion sound finds its roots within its blueprint. If The Coldest Season's was an updated take on Basic Channel's glacial soundscapes, then The Seduction of Silence sees Hitchell bringing the more explicitly reggae-influenced sounds of Rhythm And Sound into the present -- including two cuts (one a chilled dub mix of the other) with the honeyed vocals of Paul St. Hilaire (aka Tikiman). The Caribbean lilt present throughout the album (last year's mighty 'Tswana Dub' single, included here, and the two cuts with St. Hilaire being the standout examples) lends a unified air to the proceedings. Hitchell slowly but surely increases the pace and intensity of the tracks from the opener 'Montego Bay' through to the shuddering, staggering 'Intrusion Dub' before pulling back on the reins with the slinky, sexy 'Seduction' and then alternates between the deadly intense and dead mellow on the album's back half before finally concluding with the sparkling ambient coda of 'Under the Ocean.' Hitchell's solo work is far more rhythmically adventurous and danceable than most Echospace material. The delayed and doctored analog pulses (no sequencers here, thanks) are adorned with a smattering of congas and other percussion, as well as a standard deep bass drum stomp and Studio 1-inspired bass lines. Make no mistake -- the album doesn't sound explicitly like King Tubby; it's more like his ghost is haunting your favorite Maurizio sides. Beyond the phased and echoed chords and analog atmospherics, though, there is a palpable sense of spirituality present here that distinguishes The Seduction of Silence from most other dub techno, which has a tendency to be cold and metallic. There's a warm, celestial quality in the melodies here that looks skyward, and St. Hilaire's cuts provide the perfect bookends to the album; the dubbed-out 'Angel Version' is track two, while the full vocal version 'Little Angel' comes second to last. The lovestruck, inspirational lyrics and St. Hilaire's soothing tones go a long way toward lending a definitive voice to the album that travels beyond mere vocals into a deeper meaning that transcends the ten tracks. Though individual highlights abound on The Seduction of Silence, the album works best when taken as a whole, an endorsement of Hitchell's vision for an expertly paced and executed album that raises the bar on the dub techno game to stratospheric levels. You'd be hard-pressed to find a better winter warmer than this; remember it with warm thoughts when winter returns later this year, when it's time for year-end polls." --Resident Advisor

EL PARAISO RECORDS (DENMARK)

CAUSA SUI: Pewt'r Sessions 3 CD (EPR 019CD)16.50Causa Sui returns with a third round of mind-bending jams featuring Ron Schneiderman! The savage, kaleidoscopic improvisations of the quintet's previous two volumes instantly gained reverence among fans of free-flowing Krautrock and detuned stoner rock, and this brand new addition, recorded in the late summer of 2013, fulfills the group's potential entirely. The Krautrock grooves, the low-end heaviness and the sprawling furor is still very much present -- but this set is also permeated by a rare free jazz sensibility, at times recalling American masters of improvisation such as John Coltrane and Don Cherry in spirit. Ferociously experimental, yet absolutely welcoming and corporal. "Incipiency Suite," which takes up the entire B-side of this record, stands as the high pinnacle of what this group is capable of with the inclusion of Ron Schneiderman: an afternoon of spontaneously-recorded parts, cut-and-pasted into an abundant whole by studio wiz Jonas Munk, creating a unique interplay between in-the-moment improvisation and creative studio editing. History: Ron Schneiderman (aka Pewt'r) from American impro-rock collective Sunburned Hand Of The Man first got together with Danish stoner/Kraut/jazz ensemble Causa Sui in December 2006 for a loose, improvised gig at the old cinema at Christiania -- Copenhagen's autonomous, and notorious, free commune. A live recording of this gig was released the following year, under the curious bandname Pewt'r jjjjj, and became widely-admired among fans of free-form psychedelic rock for its updated version of late 1960s/early 1970s freak-out bands such as Blue Cheer, Guru Guru and Ash Ra Tempel. In the early summer of 2009, Ron Schneiderman was back in Denmark, this time for a three-week stay as co-curator of the art-and-music event Festival of Endless Gratitude in Copenhagen. During this period the group was united again for a few shows and a couple of recording sessions in Causa Sui's studio in Odense, which resulted in Pewt'r Sessions 1 and 2. The group got together again for a performance at 2012's Roskilde Festival and later again at Festival of Endless Gratitude in the summer of 2013. It was during the latter sojourn that Pewt'r Sessions 3 was recorded.

FANIA RECORDS

BETANCOURT, JUSTO: El Explosivo LP (SLP 352LP)12.00Justo Betancourt was a lead vocalist for Latin-jazz orchestra La Sonora Matancera. This is his debut album, originally released in 1968. "He interprets bolero, montuno, guajira or guaracha with the style and feeling each demands..."

FEEDING TUBE RECORDS

JACK RUBY: Jack Ruby (Volume 2) LP (FTR 158LP)16.50"When Don Fleming was doing the initial transfers of the tapes we'd gotten retrieved from Randy Cohen's barn, every evening seemed to bring a new surprise. But nothing was a bigger jawdropper than the material which makes up the second LP of our Jack Ruby archival series. The central core of the album is the 16 & a 1/2 minute track, "Destroy/Lost," recorded at the band's rehearsal space in January '74. Robin Hall vocalizes and Boris plays electric viola, but the bulk of the piece is screaming analog synth weirdness from Randy Cohen's Serge synthesizer. According to Robin, the track was recorded in hopes that it might be pared down to a single. Hard to imagine how the hell it might've been done (or in what universe), but it is a masterpiece of long-format insanity -- with Boris and Robin providing a context for the massive gallumping of the Serge. Additional players appear on some of the shorter tracks -- new music/free jazz saxophonist, Pete van Riper, on "Lithium Serenade"; Boris's electric viola on "Hydrogen Lullaby"; Chris Gray's guitar on "Mandible Mambo"; Rich Gold's Serge joins Boris' strings on "Ghost Note." The rest is the product of Randy's whacked-out compositional notions and his mastery of the Serge's patch-cords. Some of the material was recorded pre-Jack Ruby at Cal Arts (where Randy and Boris first met). The rest was from a performance in New York in early '74. Heard as a whole, it is a bizarrely shaped piece of the pre-punk/free-form puzzle that was Jack Ruby. Buckle up. It's going to be a bumpy ride." --Byron Coley; Includes download card. Edition of 600.

FIVE FOUR-O RECORDS

CLEAN, THE: Odditties 2LP (540 029LP)27.002014 repress. "It's interesting to note that by the time most folks in the northern hemisphere got their first taste of The Clean (circa 1985), they all but packed it in. Yep, tis true. '85 was the year of the first great Kiwi invasion (vinyl wise) with the Flying Nun roster leading the way. And there was nary a dud to be found. And such wonderful and unusual names: Tall Dwarfs, Sneaky Feelings, The Puddle, Scorched Earth Policy and of course, The Clean. Their trio of 12" EP's were rabidly devoured by a curious and enthusiastic cognoscenti. You didn't buy one, you bought 'em all. Same goes for the 7-inchers. And there just wasn't enough. Not only of Clean records, but Clean material! Then one day in some long forgotten order came a copy of the Odditties cassette. The sales rep had included it as a promo, claiming he couldn't shift 'em (cassette love being at something of a nadir back then). 'I'll take whatever you got' was my reply. And I hadn't even played it yet. But I knew that even though it had gotten 'runted' out on to tape only format, there was no doubt it contained a treasure trove of aural gems. You couldn't help but think that Odditties was to The Clean what Whatever Happens Next was to Swell Maps. Which, more or less, is what it is. Recorded between 1980-82 Odditties is a thorough compendium of alternate takes, addled miscues, riffing zoners and back burner gems. Never easy to come by, even the CD version had scant distro through the 90's. This bunch of songs has been tagged as 'the ones that got away'. But hold on there pard, this story ain't done. Cut to 2012 and the inimitable Austin label, Five Four O, has taken up the call and wrangled this behemoth of slippery southern psychedelia into the format it has always so richly deserved: the double LP. Housed in fetching and historical gatefold sleeve to boot."

FOURTH DIMENSION (UK)

EXTNDDNTWRK: Just Tracks 2CD (FD 092CD)20.00Long before the man with the fixed "fuck you" stare, can of beer, e-cigarette and laptop found a home as one half of Sleaford Mods, Andrew Fearn was making music at home comprised of samples, loops, frazzled electronic textures, deep bass rumbles, mutated beats, punk snarl, post-dancefloor meltdown mayhem and all manner of other abstract and disparate sounds. Rammed home by the same DIY sensibility that drives Sleaford Mods, Andrew's (mostly) solo works are where he cuts his teeth on new ideas, fresh sounds and music that sways heavily between that of a chemical-soaked film soundtrack and an obvious passion for all things that filter in from those less obvious edges most people prefer to keep at bay. Just Tracks collects the latest album of the same name alongside a bonus disc which delves into his back catalog. Perhaps as suggested, it merely hints at the little sonic dust-storms Andrew kicks up at every available free moment he gets (presumably over rugged and much abused equipment stained by coffee and with overflowing ashtray nearby). Many of the pieces may at first appear like simple sketches, but there's a huge emotional scope to them that's perfectly ripe for throwing like a grenade into the often bland waters passing for today's better realms of electronic music.

FUTURE CLASSIC (AUSTRALIA)

SEEKAE: Test & Recognise Remixes 12" (FCL 120EP)14.00Following 2013's sparse, beautiful "Another," a busy SXSW, and a vinyl reissue of their first two albums, Test & Recognise represents the next chapter for Seekae. Bitter, belligerent and confessional, this track is punctuated by up-tempo '90s industrial beats generated by a vintage drum machine emulator. Pressed on a limited 12" with remixes from Sydney's Cassius Select, plus label-mates Flume and HWLS.

GET ON DOWN

NAS: Illmatic LP (GET 51297LP)24.002014 repress. "In 1994, hip-hop was going through a painful growth spurt. Since N.W.A. and Ice-T's ascent in the late '80s, the rap game was no longer owned by the east coast. After the worldwide popularity of Dr. Dre's The Chronic in 1992, things were looking even worse for hip-hop's hometown. The east coast/west coast feud that would indirectly claim the lives of Biggie and Pac was still in its infancy, but New York needed a shot in the arm. And as soon as the first lines of 'N.Y. State of Mind' kick in, bolstered by perhaps DJ Premier's darkest beat of all time, the entire east coast breathed a collective sigh of relief. God's son had arrived. Backed by an absolute all-star cast of New York's top-shelf producers -- Premier, Pete Rock, Large Professor, Q-Tip, and a youngster named L.E.S. -- the album never lets up. Serious to a fault, and lyrically dense to an extent that has possibly never been matched, the 20-year old Nas stood on the shoulders of his predecessors and proudly proclaimed, 'Don't f*** with the east? we are back.' It was a dark, hard record, made for heads in New York, not teeny-boppers in Des Moines. There were no dance beats, no crossover love songs. Just boom-bap and rhymes, skills, and heart."

ORDELL, ROBIN: JC EP 12" (HB 005EP)12.50Half Baked Records presents the solo EP of French DJ, producer and Half Baked resident, Robin Ordell. "Five Majors" is a dramatic club twister that has all the ingredients to rock a dancefloor, while preserving a touch of elegance. "Nobody Loves Bishopgate" has a an eerie underwater feeling, slowly numbing you with his bubbly bass and filtered melodies, but still keeping you afloat with his funky swing. Vera's remix of the track strips it down, emphasizing the drugged-out atmospheres and delivering a hypnotic laidback re-interpretation. "Kosma" features jazzy chords that alternate with playful stabs.

HFN (GERMANY)

BJORKE, KASPER: After Forever LP (HFN 037LP)23.50Limited LP version, pressed on colored vinyl. Includes download card. Kasper Bjørke returns with an exquisite new album, After Forever, the Danish producer's boldest and most elegant statement to date. The scene has been set by two lead singles: "Rush," featuring Tobias Buch -- and "Sylvia" featuring CTM. Moving away from a previous '70s disco-inspired sound, Kasper explores new terrain in contemporary, melancholic synth pop; his productions merging themselves into a multi-colored soundscape with echoes from post disco/punk, Kraut and new wave. "After Forever is good for dark, sad dancing -- or a headphone journey inwards," says Kasper. "I feel like I really went somewhere else on this album, to a place where I haven't been before. Out of my safety zone and into a darker space." The fourth album by Danish producer, DJ and all-around music entrepreneur Kasper Bjørke is his boldest and most elegant statement to date. For After Forever managed to acquire some brilliant collaborators: Kurt Uenala is known for his releases as kap10kurt, but became famous for his songwriting and production for bands like Depeche Mode, Moby, Dave Gahan, The Black Ryder, etc. New York icon Nomi Ruiz is best-known as a former member of Hercules & Love Affair and for vocals on the last album as well as her new band Jessica 6. Tobias Buch is also known as The Red Baron and as the lead singer of the new hippie band The Late Great Fitzcarraldos. CTM is Caecilie Trier, the singer of successful bands Chimes & Bells and Choir Of Young Believers. Soho Rezanejad is a promising new talent from the Copenhagen underground and known for her band Gold Lip. Finland's Jaako Eino Kalevi has just been signed to Domino Records and recently released an EP for Beats In Space. According to The Guardian he is "the most impressive 'rock'n'roll' artist with an alternate simultaneous 'proper' job that we've heard of since Vic Godard the post-punk postman. The Finnish 29-year-old has been releasing records back home, while being a tram driver in Helsinki." Icelandic pop band Sisy Ey rounds off a brilliant set of contributors. Cover artwork based on the painting After Forever by John Copeland. The full painting is revealed on the innersleeve of the vinyl packaging.

HOSPITAL PRODUCTIONS

LUSSURIA: Industriale Illuminato CD (HOS 420CD)14.50One of the most intriguing artists on the Hospital Productions roster, Lussuria came to prominence with the release of three tapes as part of the American Babylon series in 2012 which were eventually compiled into a double vinyl edition in 2013. His opiated atmospheres brought together the ritualistic appeal of late '70s and early '80s Italian industrial music crossed with the claustrophobia of early material from The Cure and the decadent, voyeuristic compulsion of Pasolini flicks so enamoured by Coil. Having been in the works through late 2013 and in post-production for several months since, Industriale Illuminato is in some respects the first release by Lussuria conceived as a standalone album, and is perhaps his most unique, unsettling body of work to date. Inspired by Deconstructionism and an overriding sense of anxiety, the album revolves around the dislocated narrative of album opener "Boneblack," a dense and evocative fade into shadowy realms inspired by composer Giacinto Scelsi and the enigmatic mind-tricks of Alain Resnais' Last Year at Marienbad. "Petra Marina" sees Lussuria use real drum sounds alongside electronic ones for the first time, layered through with odd, foreboding drones constructed out of handmade Japanese music boxes, feedback manipulation and mangled tape loops which together sound like an industrial, shadowy counterpart to the hazy nostalgia of Boards Of Canada. "Venus in Retrograde" was inspired by and evokes the paranoid narrative of Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation, making use of snatches of barely tangible dialogue to form an unnerving backdrop, before "Breath of Cinder" brings the first half of the album to a close with field recordings made in deepest provincial France overlaid with a detached narrative evoking that cold, abandoned landscape. The second half of the album takes us further into this airless environment, the intriguing widescreen ambience of "Eyes of the World" offset by the percussive rattling and decimated 3 pinch harmonics of "Angelshare," while "Wind Carries Soot" recalls the aggression of Mika Vainio sedated and tamed into an altogether more narcotic kind of beast, before "Art of Veins" closes the album with a mangled and inverted message -- like some kind of Satanic directive embedded for posterity.

INTONE (UK)

KIRK, RICHARD H.: The Many Dimensions of Richard H. Kirk 3CD BOX (DS 110CD)29.00This collection of recordings by Richard H Kirk is now released as a 3xCD box set by Die Stadt, in association with and under license from Intone. The box set contains the three albums for the first time on CD: Richard H Kirk's Reality Is Opposite (guitars, breakbeats, electronics and digital interference in the sound of insurrection), Orchestra Terrestrial's Umladen classical analogue mood music) and Richard H Kirk And The Arpeggio 13's Anonymized (minimalist analogue arpeggio workouts). All three albums were recorded between October 2010 and December 2011 and were strongly influenced by certain events happening in the UK and across the globe (with an ear and an eye to the news media) as cities around the world were in turmoil. Starting with student unrest in London in November 2010, the Arab Spring in December of 2010 and full on rioting later in London again in August 2011 after police shot and killed an unarmed man. The streets were on fire again and it seems they continue to burn as pockets of unrest erupt globally. Richard H Kirk is a co-founder and now sole member of electronic music pioneers Cabaret Voltaire and in 2013 he celebrated 40 years as an audio/visual artist.

JAMAICAN RECORDINGS (UK)

ANDY, HORACE: Horace Andy's Dub Box: Rare Dubs 1973-1976 CD (JRCD 007CD)14.002014 repress. Brand new release from the Jamaican Recordings label, this time focusing on unreleased dubs of Bunny Lee-produced Horace Andy tracks dating from the years 1973 to 1976. It was during this period that Horace made some of his finest works, usually with "Striker" Lee as producer. Tracks include never-before released versions of Andy tracks such as "Skylarking," "You Are My Angel," "Love of a Woman," "Something On My Mind," "Just Say Who," "My Guiding Star," "Money Money," "Zion Gate" and more. Includes two CD bonus tracks.

MITTOO, JACKIE: Rides On CD (JRCD 031CD)14.002014 repress. "Jackie Mittoo, organ and piano maestro, was also one of the founding members of Jamaica's top session band The Skatalites. Musical arranger for Studio One, he provided the backbone to so many of Jamaica's finest tunes. Here Jamaican Recordings have captured some fine 1970s cuts that feature Jackie's numerous talents, showing his ability to embellish tracks with a feel that few could better. Musical arranger, band leader, all round studio ace, we hope you enjoy the set." Includes three extra tracks.

VA: Justice Dub: Rare Dubs from Justice Records 1975-1977 CD (JRCD 054CD)14.00The productions of producer Bunny "Striker" Lee were so extensive in the early to mid-1970s that labels were created just to handle his ever-expanding output. Three labels that came about during this time when dub was King were Jackpot, Justice and Attack. Here Jamaican Recordings takes a look at the Justice label and have compiled a collection of some of its finest dub cuts. Justice Records was formed in the early '70s as a subsidiary label to handle the ever-growing output of the producer and hit-maker from Jamaica, Bunny "Striker" Lee. Bunny worked in all the Jamaican studios and as an independent operator would license his product to all the different labels in England and America. Bunny was at the birth of dub music and worked closely with King Tubby. He stored many of his masters at Tubby's studio, where they were always available for Tubby to work his magic over. Gathered here are some of the best dub cuts from this label and era. Hope you enjoy the set.

PABLO, AUGUSTUS: Dubbing with the Don LP (JRLP 002LP)14.002014 repress. Jamaican Recordings follow up the release of the excellent King Tubby's Lost Treasures album with another killer set, this time from the melodica maestro Augustus Pablo. Dubbing with the Don features a storming dubwise selection of rare B-sides and previously-unreleased dubplates and session recordings from the mid to late '70s. Many of the cuts are newly discovered versions of such classics as "Cassava Piece" and "King Tubby meets Rockers Uptown."

KING JAMMY: Dub Explosion LP (JRLP 025LP)14.00LP version. 2014 repress, originally released in 2007. Prince Jammy would soon be crowned King Jammy, as the 1970s rolled into the dancehall '80s. But during this period we should also remember what an innovator Jammy was in the field of dub. Jammy's early recordings from the 1970s were so precise they are often mistaken for digital sound recordings, which he later became famous for in the '80s. On Dub Explosion we have 14 crystal-clear dubs which stand up next to his other classic albums, such as Prince Jammy in a Lion Dub Style, In the Light Dub, and Fatman Riddim Section's Killer Dub.

ZUKIE, TAPPA: In Dub LP (JRLP 044LP)14.002014 repress. 2011 release. Tappa Zukie's In Dub album must stand as one of the great dub releases to come out of Jamaica. Originally released in the mid 1970s, a time some say to be the finest period in reggae and especially dub. It still holds its own many years later, even though it comes from that golden period when the competition was great and plentiful. Tappa Zukie (b. David Sinclair, Kingston, Jamaica) had become producer Bunny "Striker" Lee's right-hand man within the later night recording sessions that took place in the 1970s. A session would almost not begin until Tappa was by his side, initially for security purposes, as Tappa had garnered great respect amongst the ghetto youth, but also gradually he began to take over the task of session organizer, making sure all was in place for the recordings to run smoothly. Being in such an advantageous position led to Tappa wanting to run and produce his own sessions. Tappa Zukie had already released his first single "Judge I O Lord" for producer Lloydie Slim using Bunny Lee's version of the "Drum Song" rhythm as its backdrop. Bunny Lee had also released Tappa's "Jah Is I Guiding Star" and a cut that Trojan would put out, "Knotty Woman No Cry." But it was his work through the late night sessions that had shown Tappa was ready to produce on his own. So working with eight rhythms, one being from producer Jo Jo Hoo Kim (which would become "M.P.L.A") and the other from producer Ossie Hibbert (soon to turn into "Pick Up the Rockers"), these would become the backbone to Tappa's In Dub album.

CYMANDE: Cymande LP (JLS 3044LP)12.00Cymade's debut album, featuring their hit single "The Message," which went to the top of the American pop and R&B charts and resulted in their 1973 tour alongside the likes of Al Green, Jerry Butler and Billy Preston. Gatefold sleeve.

JAZZMAN RECORDS (UK)

VA: Spiritual Jazz 5: The World CD (JMAN 067CD)14.50Subtitle: Esoteric, Modal and Deep Jazz from Around the World, 1961-79. Until it was swept aside by the pop explosion of the 1960s, jazz was the most popular modern sound on earth. From the New World and the Caribbean to Africa, across the Soviet Bloc and the British Empire to the Far East, jazz music was embraced, adopted, played and enjoyed. Having examined spiritual jazz as it was expressed in the U.S., and followed its messengers and influences in Europe, this fifth installment of Jazzman's Spiritual Jazz series presents jazz from the rest of the world: a collection of jazz messages hailing from the four corners of the world that are united in their diverse treatment of the jazz idiom. Jazz might have been the music of America, but in its beginnings it was not a purely American creation. The long story of its development stretches across the Atlantic, from Africa to the crucibles of slavery in the Caribbean and the Americas, both North and South. It was a music that ultimately emerged from the varied and resilient cultural achievements of Africans brought to the New World in bondage, and who brought with them a multiplicity of musical traditions. Evolution and development continued and, like a dandelion dispersing its airborne seeds via the wind, the sounds of jazz were carried around the world on the airwaves, record sales and by travelling musicians. In whichever continent the form took root, the individual, ethnic and cultural circumstances of the musicians decided the flavors and nuances of the jazz they created. This volume of Spiritual Jazz presents some of the rarest and most extraordinary global jazz recordings. Jazzman have covered some of the wider world's best known yet still underexposed jazz scenes -- places such as Argentina and South Africa, as well as some of the world's most obscure. There are recordings here made for major labels, and recordings issued privately. Very few of them have seen any release outside of their country of origin prior to this collection. But all of them speak of a period when jazz was a global musical lingua franca, spoken with ease by musicians who headed out into the night to produce their own distinctly local translations. This is esoteric jazz, modal jazz, spiritual jazz -- as played by musicians from around the world. All tracks fully licensed and digitally restored from the original master tapes. Comprehensive liner notes with added individual notes on each track and original stories direct from the musicians involved. CD includes a 16-page color booklet with in-depth liner notes, album cover scans and previously-unpublished photographs.

UP TIGHTS, THE: That's the Sound of My Heart/That's What I Get 7" (SOUL7 038EP)11.00Previously unreleased KILLER Northern soul dancers! From the long-forgotten archives of Alley Records from Arkansas, Jazzman has unearthed a batch of awesome raw '60s soul from Ike Noble and The Up Tights! "That's the Sound of My Heart" is a raw and infectious, uptempo feel-good '60s Midwestern dancer with menacing horns and driving guitar rhythms. And if you like the A-side then you'll love the flip! Scorching vocals over positive, pounding '60s Northern instrumentation. When these are gone they're gone -- floor-packers today and collectors' items tomorrow!

WILSON, DELROY: Meets Sly & Robbie Downtown CD (KSCD 017CD)14.002014 repress. Delroy Wilson -- known to many as the "Cool Operator" -- carries one of Jamaica's finest voices. His songs set the time and place perfectly; 1970s Jamaica. Ska was his starting point, though, and from this he moved through rocksteady and finished up in the Jamaican charts for the best part of the '70s, working with such legends as Sly & Robbie and Bunny Lee. Hits from this period include "Cool Operator," "Can I Change My Mind," and "Better Must Come" which became the anthem for Michael Manley's PNP Political Party.

VA: Sound System Rockers: Kingston Town 1969-1975 LP (KSLP 001LP)14.002014 repress. An excellent compilation of classic sound system favorites dating from the years 1969 to 1975. The tracks on this album were produced by the legendary Bunny Lee, who gave this album full backing and helped compile the tracks. Includes Horace Andy's timeless "Guiding Star," Ken Booth's version of the Abyissinian's "Satta Massagana," Leroy Smart's killer "Shame & Pride," Linval Thompson's wicked "Whip Them King" and also tracks by Dennis Brown, Cornell Campbell, Delroy Wilson, Gregory Issacs, Johnny Clarke, Freddie McGregor, Barry Brown and Alton Ellis.

SKATALITES, THE: Play Ska LP (KSLP 011LP)14.002014 repress. If one band could be cited for the emergence of ska, it would be The Skatalites. Formed around June 1965 and built around the many musicians that had honed their craft at the Alpha Boys School in Kingston, Jamaica, the early line-up consisted of Don Drummond, Roland Alphonso, Tommy McCook, Johnny "Dizzy" Moore, Lester Sterling, Jerome "Jah Jerry" Hines, Jackie Mittoo, Lloyd Brevett and Lloyd Knibbs. The time-span of the Skatalites' career, considering their output of literally hundreds of sides of music, was a relatively short one of just over two years. Here, Kingston Sounds have delved into the vaults of Wirl Records and have selected some tunes that show the dexterity of the band and what great sounds this group of musicians were capable of producing.

KLONDIKE RECORDS (UK)

SANTANA: Live at the Rynearson Stadium, Ypsilanti, MI, 25th May 1975 CD (KL 5002CD)17.00Santana's appearance at the Rynearson Stadium (Ypsilanti, MI) on May 25, 1975, was originally broadcast on the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio show. Opening with an inspired pairing of Peter Green's "Black Magic Woman" and Gabor Szabo's "Gypsy Queen," Santana display an explosive showcase of virtuosity and improvisational flare throughout the show with familiar material from the band's earlier repertoire receiving a rapturous response. Such fluent and imaginative musicianship is rarely witnessed and simultaneously recorded, but this 1975 concert displays compelling musical talent played with emphatic furor. The 1975 Ypsilanti performance clearly rivals that of the band's famed Japanese shows recorded two years earlier. Klondike's retrospective release of this seminal appearance from 1975 captures the entire recorded performance and celebrates a period of Santana's work that remains pivotal to their legacy.

STILLS, STEPHEN: Bread & Roses Festival, 4th September 1978 CD (KL 5003CD)17.00Stephen Stills was (and still is) a passionate champion of liberal causes and Mimi Fariña's Bread & Roses Folk Festival was a highpoint for any discerning artist with such political persuasion. Held at U.C. Berkeley's Greek Theater from September 2-4 1978, Stephen Stills was actually a last-minute addition to the bill, performing alongside Hoyt Axton. Pulling only two songs from his then new album Thoroughfare Gap to include in his solo acoustic set, an emotionally-pronounced Stills had ample room to explore his back catalog of solo, CSNY and CSN songs. Klondike's retrospective release of this seminal appearance by Stephen Stills authorizes a valuable snapshot in his career as a sincere and passionate performing artist. His surprise guest appearance in September 1978 is now recognized as a highpoint in his live work and is presented here in its entirety. Digitally remastered. Includes background liner notes.

M=MINIMAL (GERMANY)

STIEBLER, ERNSTALBRECHT: Mit der Zeit CD (MINIMAL 022CD)23.00As German minimalist composer Ernstalbrecht Stiebler celebrates his 80th birthday in 2014, the M=minimal label honors the work of this master of reduction with its third release dedicated exclusively to his work. In contrast to other modern composers that use avant-garde special effects, Stiebler builds his compositions around small sound spaces. Stiebler's compositional works are characterized by minimalist reduction, emphasizing individual sounds that open up and engage with each other. As the composer himself said in an interview, his music is not intended to be easy. He demands a certain concentration of his listeners. Once you accept it, you get rewarded with shifted time perception. A piece lasting 15 minutes in duration can be perceived as 45 minutes. During his early studies of composition and piano in 1959 and 1960, Stiebler received suggestions from Karlheinz Stockhausen. Throughout his career, he's worked as an editor for numerous contemporary music publications. He has composed works for Ensemble Modern and supervised recordings by Morton Feldman, John Cage, Alvin Lucier, Giacinto Scelsi, Earle Brown and Christian Wolff. German broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk commissioned him to compose an orchestral work. As his music has gained more attention in recent years, his works have been performed at many festivals, including CTM, MaerzMusik and Mutek, and a three day festival was organized in Berlin for his 80th birthday.

M>O>S RECORDINGS (NETHERLANDS)

LOPKIN, STEPHEN: The Haggis Trap 12" (MOSDEEP 020EP)12.50Stephen Lopkin serves up four cuts on his The Haggis Trap EP. The Glasgow-based producer operates in the worlds of house and techno with a unique futuristic perspective. The title-track is a surging, musically-rich techno track that is supple, shiny and spine-tingling. "Catherine's Track" is a bristling brew of sheet metal hi-hats, gurgling bass lines and emotive chords that adds a modern perspective to an old school Detroit techno sound. "Let's All Talk About Me" is a more jacking, prickly affair with pinging analog drums, incessant hi-hat lines and spangled melodies. "Mugs Alley" marries a keen sense of techno melody with crisp, propulsive percussion and firmly-rooted drums.

MADLIB INVAZION

MADLIB AND FREDDIE GIBBS: Thuggin 12" (MMS 014EP)13.002014 repress. "This project gives the Gary, Indiana-bred, LA-based rapper a chance to stretch out over the Beat Konducta's lush musical tapestry. If the first release is any indication, this collaboration will find Gibbs' rough-hewn raps landing atop smoldering soul and jagged psychedelia."

MONKEYTOWN (GERMANY)

DARK SKY: imagin CD (MONKEY 048CD)15.50The long-awaited debut LP from Dark Sky is not entirely what you might expect from the London trio. After a string of club-focused 12"s, they delve deep to deliver a tender and uplifting offering entitled imagin. To the sworn fan it may come as a surprise, but it will prove to be a pleasant one, as the evolution from the analog metallic sounds that shaped their past discography naturally mature and slide into the sound palette of imagin. Through heavy consumption of music from across the spectrum, the trio's work has refined, and clearly echoes their heritage as kids of the '90s, referencing numerous influences the decade processed -- the album bears traces of funk, post-rock, a thick layer of trip-hop, even Balearic house, bossa nova, disco, '80s pop and ambient. All of it heavily reverberated, stirred and shaken in Dark Sky's musical tumbler. The outcome is captivating. Littered with sophisticated percussion, soft and subtle marimbas fused with sci-fi synths, and tastefully-delivered vocals throughout. Grey Reverend features on the lead single "Silent Fall" to beautiful effect, with an outcome sitting somewhere between James Blake and Moderat. Elsewhere Cornelia (of Portico Quartet fame) delivers Elizabeth Fraser-like vocals on "Nothing Chances," "Vivid" and "Purple Clouds" providing a perfect soundtrack to the late summer. Long-standing Dark Sky fans will also be pleased to hear that there are more club-oriented tracks on there, too. "Odyssey"'s dark, spacey arpeggios and growling bass line reminds us of their seminal electro-roller "Confunktion," but comes delivered complete with euphoric, almost Balearic stabs and straight-stacked 4x4 hi-hats. "Rainkist" is a soul-laced dancefloor ballad featuring vocals from an unlikely source in the form of d-Bridge, with huge crossover potential, and "Manuka" finally brings back the breakbeat with its percussive Far East vibes that evoke Truth Hurts & Rakim's "Addictive," which fittingly sums up this album.

BANKS, ALEX: A Matter of Time 12" (MONKEY 049EP)12.00The second single for Alex Banks' debut album Illuminate (MONKEY 043CD/LP), like its predecessor, features the inimitable Elizabeth Bernholz. "A Matter of Time" is an electronic dancefloor ballad. Shuffled kick drums and soft arpeggios make for a laidback groove while a warmly distorted analogue pad and corresponding bassline push the track forward into club twilight. The record comes packed with a straight 4/4 remix by Frank Wiedemann of Ame and Howling fame, which expectantly evokes banging acid techno and its newer re-definitions.

MOTOR CITY DRUM ENSEMBLE (GERMANY)

GARNIER: KL 2036 EP 12" (MCDE 1212EP)12.50Deep, layered, soulful and musical tracks from French legend Laurent Garnier. "Psyche-Delia" was inspired by his deep love for Ethiopian jazz. And indeed, it sounds like a modern take on something like Mulatu Astatke. With an Afrobeat bass line, flutes and live Rhodes, it feels almost like a live jam session and is way beyond what we would usually associate with the term "house music." The flipside sees Garnier go into even deeper territory with the low-key, bass-heavy and trippy track "Whistle for Frankie," a modern take on classic Garnier values.

NO. (GERMANY)

SAGITTARIUS A: Omega Point EP 12" (NO 903EP)15.50Sagittarius A is a bright and very compact astronomical radio source at the center of the Milky Way, near the border of the constellations Sagittarius and Scorpius. It is part of a larger astronomical feature also known as Sagittarius A. Sagittarius A is also believed to be the location of a supermassive black hole. As a consequence, the artist behind Sagittarius A's Omega Point EP, wishes to remain anonymous. The EP's main title "Omega Point" can be described as a blend of stripped-down techno/acid and deep ambient textures, and provides full dancefloor functionality while remaining in a sphere of its own. Remixed by Material Object.

NOW-AGAIN

YAGHMAEI, KOUROSH: Back From The Brink 3LP (NA 5066LP)32.002014 repress. Twenty-one fully restored tracks from Kourosh's original master tapes presented as a deluxe 6-panel full color gatefold 3LP set. Includes a 24-page full color booklet with an extensive, first-person treatise by Kourosh himself, plus rare photos and ephemera of Iran's '70s rock scene, many never before seen. This vinyl version features 21 tracks from the 30 track double CD version. Subtitled: Pre-Revolution Psychedelic Rock From Iran: 1973-1979. "The only legitimately licensed collection of the godfather of Iranian psychedelic rock, Kourosh Yaghmaei. Known within the Iranian diaspora simply by his first name, Kourosh's recordings were thought lost after Islamic fundamentalists took control of Iran. They weren't: Kourosh had protected them -- along with key ephemera from the '70s. Their collection here bolstered by Kourosh's first person recollections of Iran's '70s rock scene and its death after the Revolution, tells the story of an immensely talented artist's desire to persevere in the face of terrible adversity. Kourosh Yaghmaei and his brothers Kamran and Kambiz were amongst the few inspired Iranian musicians determined to change Tehran's musical landscape in the late '60s and early '70s. The trio, armed with rented, second-hand instruments and records by The Ventures, The Kinks, The Doors, merged Western garage rock, psychedelia and Iranian folkloric music to create a sound unlike anything that came before them."

OTOROKU (UK)

III (DAICHI YOSHIKAWA, PAUL ABBOTT & SEYMOUR WRIGHT): gjerhan LP (ROKU 011LP)23.50III (pronounced /el/) is Daichi Yoshikawa, Paul Abbott and Seymour Wright. This recording includes two bare 20-minute excerpts from separate performances at Café OTO. Daichi Yoshikawa (feedback); Paul Abbott (drums); Seymour Wright (alto saxophone). gjerhan began from subterranea, sweat, haze and dedication emerging out of intimate and intense weekly meetings begun in 2009 -- their first, 2012 public performance, squeezed into a London basement was a sheer, vexed and exhilarating smack of organic, heterodyning ideas, and taut, low-beating lumps. Reemerge/revanish: With the economy of familiar/traditional raw tools feedback, drum-kit, alto saxophone, time, space and emotion, III move from molten musical pasts to grow future pleasures in sound. The ingredients are familiar, but the listening is not: At its heart is a still, undecorated concentration fuelling an extreme testing of limbs, language and order. This has no concern with collapsing difference into a vogueish, flattened mass-froth, but searches -- forensically, ceaselessly -- for something to chew, in the challenge of discretion and integrity or asylum in the body of its instruments. Akilsakilan learning, Doughnut: Finding, twisting and hammering out an expanding musical universe balanced only by its own logic -- III have few obvious comparisons. Their performances are consistent radical negotiations of the emotional, physical and social energies of the environments they sound out. Perfectly reasonable.

PARTICLES (UK)

VA: Velvet Revolutions - Psychedelic Rock from the Eastern Bloc, Volume Two: 1968-1971 CD (PART 4043CD)17.00Eastern Bloc rock: Velvet Revolutions volume two celebrates the hugely innovative and unique sound that was engineered behind the infamous Iron Curtain in Cold War Eastern Europe. Enigmatic, bizarre and genial are just a few choice words that could be used, yet only offer brief praise of the overlooked craft created by a generation whose hindered hopes and dreams were recorded in the 1960s and 1970s. These sounds survive as monumental works in their own right and stand as a testament to their art while serving as a lesson to those in the West who thought they knew it all. Includes a 20-page color booklet with comprehensive liner notes and rare color photographs. Artists include: Olympic, Progress Organization, Kameleoni, The Matadors, Romualdiroman, Grupa220, Breakout, Crni Biseri, Hungaria, Blue Effect, Omega, Illes, No Toco, and Romulad I.

BORTZ & SASCHA SIBLER, DANIEL: Tomorrow We Start a New Life Again 12" (PERMVAC 130EP)12.50Daniel Bortz and Sascha Sibler join forces again. After their first 12" release on Berlin's finest house imprint Innervisions, here comes the long-awaited release of "Tomorrow We Start a New Life Again," a track which was first featured in Daniel Bortz's Boiler Room set where it received plenty of positive feedback. People kept asking for a release since then. The B-side "If Not Tomorrow Maybe Someday" is a wonderful playful house tune; works anytime, anywhere.

PHOENIX RECORDS (UK)

FLOWER TRAVELLIN' BAND: Satori LP (ASH 3002LP)22.002014 repress. Deluxe LP format; 180 gram pressing. Reissue of the second Flower Travellin' Band album, originally issued by Atlantic Records in Japan in 1971. Satori is a conceptual hard rock/psych album driven by Hideki Ishima's furious guitar licks which erupt and explode over the harmonic heart beat of the drums and bass. Yamanaka's banshee-like vocal style turned him into an occidental Iggy Pop or Robert Plant while the band itself was rapidly becoming Japan's answer to Led Zeppelin. Satori is a huge album in every way. From power chords to Eastern-tinged North African six-string freak-outs and crashing tom-toms, the band flexes its collective muscle from start to finish. In short, this is a real rock classic of the type they simply don't make any more.

SILVER APPLES: Silver Apples LP (ASH 3003LP)31.002014 repress. Limited edition deluxe LP format, pressed on 180 gram virgin vinyl; housed in a deluxe gatefold foil sleeve containing the insert from the original release. The self-titled first album by '60s electronic legends Silver Apples, originally released by Kapp Records in 1968. Fresh off their stint as The Overland Stage Electric Band, Simeon and Dan Taylor formed their own extravagant, two-man electronic space-odyssey, Silver Apples, to remarkable critical acclaim. "What's so amazing is that they make absolutely mind-shattering music with all this junky equipment," commented one reviewer, astounded over the then-mindbending concept of build-it-yourself electronics combined with rock drums. The debut album features lyrics by poet Stanley Warren and is an absolutely essential piece of musical history from electronic/psychedelic/rock music's ground-breaking legends.

POKER FLAT (GERMANY)

WATSON, VINCE: Rock-It EP 12" (PFR 151EP)14.00Vince Watson is a stalwart of the scene and truly in a league of his own: an unparalleled discography, a singular flair for arrangement, and a signature sound of lush layers and deep, irresistible grooves. "Rock-It" is another complete chapter written in Watson's unique vocabulary. The title-track's swift pacing and bright multi-chords create a constant state of uplift and progression, movement and light. On "Sonar" a prominent chord progression is sustained throughout, running through the track like a shot of neon, ensuring its future as a peak-time anthem. "Feel-It" eases into a looser, deeper tech-house tempo, unraveling tight melodic harmonies for breezy watercolor washes of pads.

DOGFEET: Dogfeet CD (PT 8024CD)17.00The highly-collectable Dogfeet album originally released on the CBS subsidiary in 1970, plus six bonus tracks, including two live songs from a reformed version of the group from 1991. Moody twin guitar blues-y psychedelic rock. Digitally remastered. Includes detailed liner notes and rare photos.

TWENTY SIXTY SIX AND THEN: Reflections on the Future CD (PT 8025CD)17.00So how about some hyper-rare German progressive rock, then? 2066 & Then were only around for just over a year, but in that short time managed to make a heavy, organ-saturated prog masterpiece in Reflections on the Future (1972), which somehow manages to combine Deep Purple, Vanilla Fudge, Iron Butterfly, The Nice and Jethro Tull into a heavy, occasionally funky stew of post-psychedelic energy.

STONE ANGEL: Stone Angel CD (PT 8026CD)17.00"How much? £622?" Yes, the privately-pressed 1975 album by Norfolk acid-folkies Stone Angel is a popular draw on the psych-folk marketplace."We were going to chuck them away," the group's Joan Bartle told The Guardian in 2013. "We had no idea what acid folk even was until we read about it in Record Collector magazine," adds Ken Saul, another bewildered member. "We were just writing folk songs and reacting to our environment. We didn't do drugs." "I've never even been drunk," added Joan. Digitally remastered. Includes detailed liner notes.

QUINTESSENTIALS (UK)

BORROWED IDENTITY: Sexo Bonito 12" (QUINTESSE 041EP)12.50Borrowed Identity lives and breathes music. He's unstoppable. He's smooth. His new Sexo Bonito release is again as fat as his last Quintessentials release, that famous Love for Sale (QUINTESSE 035EP). Borrowed Identity fuses techno, house, funk, and more. He's freestyle. And yeah, he's a world champion.

RIOT SEASON (UK)

EARTHLING SOCIETY: England Have My Bones LP (REPOSE 040LP)25.00Earthling Society are a kosmische quartet that hail from the most un-kosmische areas of North West England, Fleetwood. A town so bleak you literally can't drive through it; sticking out of the British Isles like a crippled dick into the murkiest part of the Irish sea. Here, Earthling Society built their lo-fi studio in an old deserted glass factory and since 2004 have recorded a number of albums under the influence of mushrooms, cheap speed and cheaper beer, hoping for a few minutes to transport themselves from the reality of where they really live. Along the way they have hitched rides with Julian Cope, Hawkwind, Damo Suzuki, Guru Guru and Blue Cheer. England Have My Bones is their latest album of fuzzy space-rock offerings with a dedication to their Coltrane idols in a freaked-out version of "Journey in Satchidananda." Limited edition translucent green vinyl.

ROD, JOHANNES: Free Jazz and Improvisation on Vinyl 1965-1985: A Guide to 60 Independent Labels Book (RBK 2160BK)47.50Over the last 20 or so years we have witnessed an explosion in music-related books, this one being a most welcome addition that fills a hole in that ever-growing library. Born out of necessity and a love of the music and the records, the aim of this book is to offer a guide to a selection of independent labels and their releases of free jazz and improvisation between 1965 and 1985, with 1965 being the year when ESP-Disk' started out as the first independent label dedicated to the music covered in this book, and 1985 being the year that the CD slowly started to take over as the main sound carrier. However, Rune Grammofon has stretched the frames a little bit on a few occasions. As explained in the book, they have also chosen to leave out certain labels that have released important records by highly influential musicians within the field of this book, such as Impulse!, Blue Note and Atlantic. This is because they consider them as major labels that have a wide variety of releases in their catalogs and are also well documented in a number of other publications. It's also important for them to underline that this is a personal, subjective take on the subject, rather than an encyclopedic one. Sixty labels are presented, each with an introduction and a discography, either complete or by the author's personal choice. There are also 64 sleeve illustrations, including some extremely rare ones, as well as forewords by Swedish sax player and composer Mats Gustafsson and Rune Grammofon's founder Rune Kristoffersen. Finally, there is a conversation between Kristoffersen and music writer Rob Young. Author Johannes Rød is working freelance as an art historian and conservator and has written several books on visual art. He has also been an avid record collector since the late '60s and most of the sleeve illustrations are from his own collection. 128 pages housed in a Geltex cover. Design and layout by Kim Hiorthøy.

HENRIKSEN, ARVE: The Nature of Connections CD (RCD 2161CD)17.00Arve Henriksen stumbled across the title of his latest album while reading a book about furniture-making. "The author mentioned the complexity of making a chair and all the people involved in the process," the Norwegian trumpet player says. "The high quality of the different fields and the wide range of professions that, after a long process, turns into a product which can easily be compared to the process of making this album." The Nature of Connections finds Arve working in harness with some of Norway's most distinguished and dynamic musician-craftsmen, drawn from the fields of folk, improvisation and jazz. Each one brought specialist components and skills honed over many years to Arve's workshop, where the results were assembled and polished to a high gleam. The Nature of Connections almost entirely features pieces composed by Arve's collaborators. Recorded in the sparkling acoustics of Oslo's legendary Rainbow Studio by Jan Erik Kongshaug, it's an album with closer ties to Nordic folk and contemporary, minimalist chamber music than any of Arve's previous releases. The trumpeter had planned to make an album with a string quartet for many years but never quite found the right formula. Finally, a specially commissioned tour brought him together with violinists Nils Økland and Gjermund Larsen, cellist Svante Henryson and double bassist Mats Eilertsen, all of whom now appear as the central planks in The Nature of Connections. Another welcome guest is drummer Audun Kleive, veteran of Norwegian jazz ensembles including Masqualero, JoKleBa!, Generator X, Terje Rypdal and Jon Balke. "The brilliant thing about collaboration with others is that your collaborators very often have better ideas than yourself," says Arve, typically modest. "At the same time, some naive and simple ideas from my head are sometimes enough to illustrate that moment and that special feeling of a story. I have gradually started to trust that feeling." His instincts are correct, leading to some of the warmest and most organic sounding music of his career. Highlights include the solemn chamber music of "Seclusive Song," and the stately progress of "Hymn" -- composed by Arve's keyboardist partner in the long-running Norwegian improv ensemble Supersilent, Ståle Storløkken -- which paces itself around Henryson's repetitive, gently churning cello. Born in Norway and currently living in Sweden, Arve Henriksen is Scandinavia's most distinctive trumpeter and improviser. He played in various jazz ensembles in his youth before co-forming Supersilent in 1997, a prolific free music group with Helge Sten (Deathprod) and Ståle Storløkken, which is still ongoing. His trumpet, augmented with effects and electronics, has appeared with David Sylvian, Terje Rypdal, Nils Petter Molvær, Jon Balke, Terje Isungset and Iain Ballamy's Food. With Supersilent he recently collaborated with former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones. In September 2014 he'll be participating in an architectural installation/performance as part of Oslo's Ultima Festival of contemporary music. Since 2001 he has created a series of exquisite solo recordings (on Rune Grammofon and ECM), which combine electronic textures, horns, woodwinds, ethnic instruments, percussion, keyboards, and his mournful, yearning singing voice. Henriksen's music reflects both the stunning beauty of virgin wilderness and the shifting, cosmopolitan environments experienced by the 21st century traveler. The Nature of Connections is the latest link forged in an ever-growing chain. Arve Henriksen (trumpet, piccolo trumpet, piano); Nils Økland (violin, Hardanger fiddle, viola d'amore); Svante Henryson (cello); Gjermund Larsen (violin, Hardanger fiddle); Mats Eilertsen (double bass); Audun Kleive (drums).

RUSH HOUR (NETHERLANDS)

MAGNESII: VD Jams #1 12" (RH VD17-EP)12.50Amsterdam-based producer Magnesii delivers a stunning debut 12" for Tom Trago's Voyage Direct label. Raw, fuzzy and in turns melancholic, spellbinding and intense, its three tracks bubble and hiss to the distinct sound of vintage analog hardware. He jams out tunes on a tasteful selection of analog gear, sequencing with either the Alesis MMT-8 or the Akai MPC2000 -- a favorite toy of many of the Netherlands' best electronic producers -- and adding basslines, beats, acid lines and melodies on obscure synths and drum computers. His creations are then bounced down straight to 1/4" tape or cassette.

WINTER & HATZLER, ANDRE: Mirage EP 12" (SENSO 003EP)14.00André Winter and Hatzler's unique studio alchemy has revealed itself under many guises over many years. Their latest incarnation sees them join forces yet again for an impressive selection of maximal techno future classics. There is nothing illusory about the duo's Mirage EP; the three tracks are rock-solid, bristling with energy, and designed for maximum impact. "Mirage" is pure forward movement and acceleration, straight out of the gate. "Kwantum" continues the metallic tones and spiky attitude, and "Glowsticks" possesses the color and vibrancy that the name suggests, creating a big, bright peak-time belter.

SINNBUS (GERMANY)

THE/DAS: Freezer CD (SINNBUS 053CD)15.50Finally, the first full-length album from The/Das! For Freezer, the former side project of Bodi Bill allow themselves to be more band than project. In a technoid frame they create, along with regulars Thomalla (Krakatau), Jorg Wahner (Apparat) and Gunnar Spies (MIA.), a distinctly organic, in-depth soundscape. The/Das have chosen an exciting path. After sending their previous band Bodi Bill into a break, Fabian Fenk and Anton Feist have tried a lot with their new project The/Das, combining different musical approaches under one umbrella. Two EPs with techno tracks were released on Italy's cutting-edge dance label Life And Death. Fenk has also contributed vocals with Tale Of Us, also on Life And Death. The/Das have travelled half the world, performing -- according to context -- as a band or merging their pieces into pulsating DJ sets. The/Das' style has condensed more and more and their sub-cooled and highly driving music has grown, culminating in this highly-anticipated album.

EINAR STRAY ORCHESTRA: Politricks LP (SINNBUS 054LP)21.00LP version. Includes download card. Einar Stray Orchestra's new album has been given the name Politricks and is lyrically a tribute to childhood heroes and beliefs that are shattered when faced with the reality of the adult world. It is a personal story about finding oneself, about adolescent frustration in the middle of a blizzard of different beliefs. It is about losing a friend to death and a farewell letter to God, which was never sent but made into a song instead. Politricks is an album about being ashamed of Norwegian foreign policies 0- about being from a country that hands out peace prizes with one hand and simultaneously makes weapons of war and builds its extreme prosperity on oil with the other. Musically, Einar Stray Orchestra is inspired by artists such as Sufjan Stevens and Godspeed You! Black Emperor with the same orchestral approach to composing. The songs will be as long as they need to be, and where both shouting and whispering colors the soundscape. Politricks is a dynamic and colorful album. Dark melancholy and an orchestral sound that meets an accessible pop sound with more shades than on its predecessor Chiaroscuro. The signature grand piano gets a rest at times in favor of electric guitar and shoegaze influences. Politricks takes you from stripped a cappella to noisy rock crescendos. The album was produced by Hasse Rosbach (Team Me/Moddi) and mixed by Nick Terry (Libertines/Klaxons/Serena Maneesh).

SND (UK)

SND: travelog (Special Extended Edition) 2LP (SND 3SE)25.50travelog was the third EP released by Mat Steel and Mark Fell as SND, arriving in 1999 just before the release of their influential debut album Makesnd Cassette on the Mille Plateaux label. Of the three EP reissues in the series, travelog contains the most developed and satisfying work from the pair, edging their reduced production palette into more fully-realized dimensions, coloring-in those instantly-recognizable bass notes and isolated percussive elements with a slow, sublime trickle of melody. The six extra tracks included are indispensable -- extending the original EP into an hour of mesmerizing, slowly immersive rhythmic pulses that still sound pretty much unlike anything you'll have heard before -- a perfect bridge between house, techno and UKG re-imagined within a stripped structure that should act as a masterclass for a new school of producers trying to balance out rhythmic complexity with space. The opening A1 encapsulates this asymmetry brilliantly, bare swing and shuffle riding chiming chords that add warmth and space to an already intoxicating blueprint, while A3 takes those same elements and sharpens them into a slow, undulating alignment bolstered by that immaculate mastering treatment from Rashad Becker. B3 takes things deeper -- a slow percussive edit slowly drowned-out by a growling analog drone, while the closing side joins the dots between this EP series and that trio of albums for Mille Plateaux that would soon establish SND as the most forward-thinking and still resolutely original producers from an otherwise largely-forgotten musical era.

SONIC PIECES (GERMANY)

DEAF CENTER: Recount CD (PATT 001CD)23.00Deaf Center is seemingly never of the times. Whether it's the nostalgic component often associated with Pale Ravine and Owl Splinters, or the time between releases, waiting and remembering are part of the experience. Recount is a bridge between full albums, where time and familiarity are mesmerizingly suspended. Recorded during rehearsal sessions in 2012 and 2008, "Follow Still" and "Oblivion" make full use of the Deaf Center spectrum. In the direction of a live performance, Recount plays off of experience and reaction; a balancing act of improvisation, sonic detail, and emotion. "Follow Still," recorded in Berlin 2012, brings you to a recent past. The 13-minute track leads you down a melancholic pathway and into tunnels of memory. Minimal piano passages and warm repeating organ sounds are at the core, slowly blurring your sense of time while faint guitar amp noise and the sound of effect-pedals switching off and on makes you feel present at the recording. Engraved with intricate details and quiet moments, "Follow Still" pursues the night until dawn. "Oblivion," recorded 2008 in Oslo, recalls the live sets that followed the release of Pale Ravine. With this era condensed into one long track, the piece is an overwhelming mass of orchestral haze, crying strings and droning bass. The dense fog doesn't burden but calms, and as it starts to clear, reveals a true grandiosity. Recount is both a division and fusion of sound and time. Two tracks, two years, two people, two cities; ultimately, Deaf Center straddles worlds to lead to something unquantifiable and timeless.

NIRO: Tender as Asphalt EP 12" (SOV 002EP)12.50Amsterdam/London-based label The Sound Of Vast was founded in 2014 by Japanese DJs Knock and Red Pig Flower. For this release, Vast enrolls revered Italian producer Niro who, with these three tracks, comes up with one of his finest selections of works to date. Taking inspiration from the analog sounds that permeate his musical landscape, Niro presents a journey with classic Roland synthesizers to set the tone and space, experimenting with a trippy and colorful vibe. Features a vinyl-only track and a remix by Gonno. Limited edition of 500 copies only.

STERNS AFRICA (UK)

LES AMBASSADEURS: Les Ambassadeurs du Motel de Bamako 2CD (STCD 3065-66CD)19.50The supernal singer Salif Keita, groundbreaking guitarists Kante Manfila, Ousmane Kouyate and Amadou Bagayoko (now famous as half of Amadou & Mariam), saxophonist Moussa Sissoko, organist Idrissa Soumaoro, and the extraordinary bala-xylophonist and fiddler Keletigui Diabate -- they (and as many others) were all in the great West African band called Les Ambassadeurs. They came together from several bands from four different countries (hence their name) in Bamako, Mali, in 1970. The man behind this all-star ensemble was a high-ranking officer in the military junta that governed Mali. He was eager to affirm his influence by entertaining VIPs at his favorite hangout, the Motel de Bamako, located among shady mango trees along the Niger River, and to succeed he needed an attraction at least as strong as the Rail Band, which was in residence at the popular Buffet Hotel adjacent to the city's central train station. Les Ambassadeurs immediately created a sensation with their skill at various styles, including Afro-Cuban, jazz, R&B, rock, and modernized Manding classics, and in 1973 the Rail Band's star vocalist, Salif Keita, left the Buffet Hotel to join his peers at the Motel de Bamako. In the mid-'70s Les Ambassadeurs were the pre-eminent Malian band, releasing hit after hit, touring West Africa, and even making appearances in France. The new Sterns Music 2CD album includes 18 recordings made by Les Ambassadeurs in Bamako between 1975 and 1977 (before politics compelled them to relocate to Abidjan, Ivory Coast, where they became known as Les Ambassadeurs Internationaux). Most of these tracks have never previously been reissued on CD, and two of them -- Radio Mali live recordings -- have never been released until now. The album booklet contains illuminating notes, rare photographs, and reproductions of LP covers.

IXTAHUELE: Mareld 7" (SUBL 107EP)12.00The exotic sounds of Ixtahuele are back with three fresh offerings to soothe and entice your ears. Let your mind's eye wander as this dynamic group paints an auditory landscape utilizing a wide array of both indigenous and symphonic percussion. Front and center are the vibrant, lush tones of the vibraphone, paired with piano, bass, and the occasional flute -- all accompanied by an ever-changing thicket of bongos, congas, shakers, bells, gongs, cymbals and hand-drums from all around the world. This is modern music in a postmodern world, made for the discerning listener. Pressed in a limited edition, housed in a deluxe picture sleeve cover.

SUNBEAM RECORDS (UK)

KALEIDOSCOPE: Tangerine Dream LP (SBR 5086LP)22.002014 repress. Sunbeam Records is delighted to present a definitive collector's vinyl edition from cornerstones of British psychedelia, Kaleidoscope. This is their debut album originally released by Fontana in 1967. Produced with the full involvement of the band, this LP comes complete with lovingly-reproduced artwork, as well as a lavish 12-page, full-color, large-format booklet packed with original trade ads, memorabilia and contemporary press cuttings, and with exclusive sleevenotes by the quartet's leader Peter Daltrey, telling the story of the band in full detail. The result is simply essential for all connoisseurs of British psychedelia.

KALEIDOSCOPE: Forget About Tomorrow: The Singles 2LP (SBR 5093LP)31.002014 repress. Kaleidoscope are well-established as one of the finest bands to emerge from Britain's late-'60s psychedelic boom. This deluxe gatefold double LP set gathers for the first time all the 45s they issued between 1967 and 1976, including their releases as Fairfield Parlour and I Luv Wight. Taking in releases from the UK, Holland, Japan, Australia and elsewhere, it comes complete with a plethora of rare images, a facsimile of their first press release and a lavish booklet featuring a new essay by their leader, Peter Daltrey, making it truly essential for fans of British psychedelia. Deluxe gatefold double LP with a 12-page booklet.

SWP RECORDS (NETHERLANDS)

BAIRD, MICHAEL: The Ritmoloog Continues..... CD (SWP 029CD)15.502005 release. Modern music with a pan-African basis! Zambian-born drummer/composer Michael Baird mixes electronics with audio and some words. This is highly personal music -- nine different rhythmic pieces, nine different moods. With wonderful contributions by guest musicians such as Kofi Ayivor (GHA), Ousmane Seye (SEN), Jeroen van Vliet (NL), and Konkie Halmeyer (CUR), who all love to cross over existing boundaries. Idiosyncratic groove music that cannot be confined to one category. Includes a 20-page booklet.

TRACEY, HUGH: Kenyan Songs and Strings: Kenya 1950 & 1952 CD (SWP 030CD)15.502006 release. The selection of music here is comprised of a cappella choirs and songs accompanied by string instruments. Except for two guitar tracks and one oud track, the string instruments are all lyres -- chepkongo, kipukandet, thum, litungu. The strummed lyres sound very guitar-like, at times positively post-punk, and then the wonderful buzzing bass sound of the plucked thum, with strings made of cow tendons, and an array of beautiful traditional vocal styles. Includes the famous song "Chemirocha." Historical recordings by Hugh Tracey. Includes a 24-page booklet.

TRACEY, HUGH: Bulawayo Jazz: Southern Rhodesia 1950, '51, '52 CD (SWP 032CD)15.502006 release. In no book of the history of jazz will you find any mention, let alone a chapter, about Africa's very own style of jazz developed in the early 1950s -- in Bulawayo, to be precise, economic heart of then-Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, and gateway to and from South Africa. This is a grand omission. Here, finally, is the evidence. After all, the only other jazz style born outside of the USA before the 1960s was the gypsy swing of the Hot Club de France. The dominant figure in the Bulawayo scene was saxophonist and bandleader August Musarurwa -- also composer of the world hit "Skokiaan." Includes a 20-page booklet.

VA: Lesotho Calling: Lesiba & Sekhankula Music CD (SWP 033CD)15.502007 release. The lesiba mouthbow meditative sound, almost abstract but definitely breathing an array of overtones, music of the ancestors, music of birds and mountains, a sound that could only come from Africa. This ancient instrument is the national instrument of the Kingdom of Lesotho, and it is alive and well -- good news, as so many traditional musics from central, eastern and southern Africa have disappeared within the last 50 years. On his trip to Lesotho in 2006, Michael Baird recorded what he found -- many lesiba players, and another herdsman's instrument, the sekhankula bow, and some old-style Sotho concertina. Includes a 24-page booklet.

TRACEY, HUGH: The Very Best of Hugh Tracey CD (SWP 034CD)15.502008 release. Englishman Hugh Tracey (1903-1977) dedicated his life to recording African music. During an era that no one else took African music seriously at all, HT crisscrossed central, eastern and southern Africa, recording what he found. He foresaw that much of the music would disappear through urbanization and outside influences. In so many cases, we are lucky to have his recordings of so much amazing music -- no one else recorded it. His archive constitutes the musical memory of half a continent. This final album features one star track from each of the 21 CDs in the series, plus as a bonus, there are six tracks from the original session by guitarist Jean Bosco Mwenda. Housed in a 6-page digipak.

AREND NIJENHUIS/MICHAEL BAIRD: Twenty Years After CD (SWP 035CD)15.502009 release. Two duets of pure improvised music of the highest quality, featuring the legendary Dutch recluse Arend Nijenhuis and drummer Michael Baird. In the first duet, Arend plays synthesizer and Michael the drum set, and in the second duet, 20 years later, Arend plays piano and Michael assorted percussion. They are engaged in a true dialogue from the first note to the last, in recordings so clear and direct that it is as if they are playing in your living room. Unpretentious music that cheers you up, but that also requires openmindedness from the listener. Housed in a 6-page digipak.

VA: The Kankobela of the Batonga Vol. 1: Recorded in Zambia & Zimbabwe CD (SWP 036CD)15.502009 release. The kankobela is the thumb-piano of the Batonga people, who live in the Zambezi Valley on both sides of Lake Kariba. A solo instrument played by men, to express their innermost feelings in songs about a range of subjects from spiritual to humorous. The instrument itself is always highly customized, and the songs all highly personal: no two players sound the same. But it is dying out, as young people are not continuing the tradition. On this album, SWP Records presents seven surviving masters, with otherworldly songs, deep buzzing and mesmerizing time patterns. Tongatronics -- but without any electricity! Includes a 20-page booklet.

SEAMEN, PHIL: The Late Great Phil Seamen CD (SWP 037CD)15.502009 release. Phil Seamen was arguably the greatest jazz drummer Europe has ever produced. He was up there alongside such contemporaries as Kenny Clarke and Philly-Joe Jones -- creative, and with a wonderful feel for time, a true personality with a recognizable sound and approach. A legend in his own lifetime, he died in 1972. Best-known by some in the rock world as the mentor of Ginger Baker. This album of highlights of his playing, with beautifully remastered recordings from between 1953 and 1972 also features Jack Parnell, Victor Feldman, Joe Harriott, Dizzy Reece, Stan Tracey, Jimmy Witherspoon, Kenny Graham, Harold McNair, Ronnie Scott, and Tony Coe. Includes a 24-page booklet.

BAIRD, MICHAEL: Ends and Odds CD (SWP 038CD)15.502010 release. A nicely weird but groovy collection of 13 different pieces, all written and performed by drummer/composer/producer/field recordist Michael Baird. An ambient Afro-jazzy meltdown, original down to its inner core. Voodoo-jazz for all occasions. An idiosyncratic, avantgardistic mix of African rhythms, European jazz and pop. With some help from friends Layba Diawara (GUI) (balafon), Rick van Heerden (ZIM) (alto sax), Sophie de Vries (NL) (vocals), Marianne Noordink (NL) (nay), Cherry Wijdenbosch (SUR) (vocals), and Jasper le Clercq (NL) (violin). Housed in a 6-page digipak.

TAPE RECORDS (NETHERLANDS)

HARON: Optics 12" (TAPE 006EP)12.50Equally inspiring follow-up to Haron's debut on Tape Records, this one featuring a brilliant remix by Gifted & Blessed. Optics starts off with the melodious electronics track "Hadouken" that invokes a great sense of familiarity and warmth, before moving to the slower and deeper track "Raindance." The release picks up the pace again on the B-side with three versions of the outspoken electronics track "Optics," with its stabbing snares and driving bass line. Gifted & Blessed absolutely delivers on his remix, producing another one of his unique, electronic soundscapes. Comes in a black-and-white silk-screened outer sleeve, handcrafted by Ruben Verkuylen.

TEMPA (UK)

SKEPTICAL: Echo Dub/Chain Reaction 12" (TEMPA 092EP)12.50Skeptical's debut 12? for Tempa draws together a pair of his starkly minimal, yet driving dubstep tracks, including "Chain Reaction," which has recently been doing dancefloor damage as a dubplate in the hands of scene lynchpins like Youngsta and J:Kenzo. A-side "Echo Dub" is sparse and considered, rolling out above a taut, prickly beat that whirls around your field of perception. B-side "Chain Reaction" is a prowling monster of a beat, hunched low and stalking the dancefloor. Its subs bubble and roil, punctuated by violent staccato melodic stabs that shatter the atmosphere to dizzying effect.

THE BUNKER NEW YORK

ZEMI17: Impressions EP 12" (BK 007EP)11.50The composer and sculptor Aaron Taylor Kuffner is well-known for co-creating the Gamelatron project in 2008, the world's first fully-robotic gamelan orchestra. In 1997, Kuffner created another musical project, Zemi17. The success of the Gamelatron Project put Zemi17 on indefinite hiatus until The Bunker dug out one of Kuffer's last surround-sound live sets from Unsound New York in 2012 and asked him for a 12" of that material. The Bunker is proud to release these two long and seductive tracks made entirely of sounds of insects, birds, motors and urban noises spliced together with treated samples of gongs and metallophones to create lush techno compositions.

TICO RECORDS

PALMIERI, EDDIE: Recorded Live at Sing Sing, Vol. 1 LP (CLP 1303LP)11.50Latin jazz band leader Eddie Palmieri performed with Harlem River Drive in Sing Sing prison in 1971, resulting in this first of two LPs. Featuring Charlie Palmieri on organ, Cornell Dupree on electric guitar, Hank Anderson on bass, and many others, performing with a complete disregard for prison overcrowding.

TOMPKINS SQUARE

DAWSON, SMOKE: Fiddle LP (TSQ 5043LP)18.00LP version. "Reissue of Smoke Dawson's 1971 private press LP, Fiddle. George 'Smoke' Dawson played banjo in MacGrundy's Old-Timey Wool Thumpers with Peter Stampfel (later of Holy Modal Rounders) in 1960, lived for years at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, NY, and roamed around the US as an itinerant bagpipe and fiddle player for decades. His life is laced with small triumphs, and lots of tragedy. But he's still with us. Tompkins Square reissues his only album, a remarkable 1971 private press LP. This is his story. Excerpted notes by reissue producer / Tompkins Square label owner Josh Rosenthal : 'I was doing some research for a box set of music recorded at Cafe Lena, the hallowed folk music venue located in Saratoga Springs, NY, when I came upon a photograph of a musician I didn't recognize. He looked like a sixth member of The Band - a handsome fiddler with wax moustache, goatee, black Western hat. There was a traditional air to him, a seriousness, but there was also something wild there. I needed to know who he was, and everything about him. The producers told me his name was Smoke Dawson, and they had tape on him. We listened, and his live version of 'Devil's Dream' made it onto the box set. Then I started digging. I found a 1996 blog post from someone named Oliver Seeler, who claimed to have recorded a solo album by Dawson in 1971. I called the number on the site, not expecting much from an 18 year old blog post. But he picked up. He gave me background on the record. And, he gave me Smoke Dawson's phone number...'"

TRESOR (BELGIUM)

DREXCIYA: Neptune's Lair 2LP (TRESOR 10129LP)27.502014 repress. 2LP version, featuring 13 tracks from the CD version. 2014 repress. Detroit's Drexciya, with their close ties to Underground Resistance, emerged in 1991. With an encoded agenda and socio-political mission aimed at the world, a new page of Drexciya's grand history was written entitled Neptune's Lair, featuring 21 exclusive tracks released in the fall of 1999. Drexciya is the sound of originality embodying all the musical styles and history that Detroit the city has seen and been part of. Drexciya is music for change that defies categorization; traditionally armed with freestyle electro, techno, funk, and jazz while covering an entire spectrum of moods ranging from the dark to shimmering beauty. While words won't do Neptune's Lair proper justice, rootsy Kraftwerkian techno ("Universal Element" and "Oxyplasmic Gyration Beam"), gives way to G-style electro ("Andreaen Sand Dunes"), while jazzy freestyle funk ("Running Out Of Space" and "Funk Release Valve") evolves alongside classic 4/4 club sound. Although the roots run deep, Neptune's Lair heralded an important new chapter in the musical connections between Detroit's finest and Tresor.

TT SHAKER (UK)

MOORE AND THE BLAZERS/EBONETTES, JOHNNY: Bullfrog/Wild Man Walk 7" (TTSHAKE 117EP)8.00A wild, greasy instrumental romp from Johnny Moore and the Blazers centered around an insistent and totally infectious riff. The guitar twangs and scratches, the sax rasps and honks, the piano tinkles and the rhythm bumps and shakes -- what more could you want from an instro? On the flip-side, a knockabout offering entitled "Wild Man Walk" from the Ebonettes, which comes complete with bongo and grunt interjections.

SAINTE ANTHONY'S FYRE: Sainte Anthony's Fyre LP (ZONK 001LP)12.00"This legendary private press is rated as one of the ultimate local basement hard rock blowouts by many connoisseurs. Released as early as 1970, the end result has some similarities to MC5's hallowed Kick out the Jams." --Acid Archives

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